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Causes, Symptoms and Treatment of Tension Headaches | 22nd August, 2017

Tension headaches are caused by muscle contractions in the head and neck regions.

A tension headache is the most common type of headache. It can cause mild, moderate, or intense pain in your head, neck, and behind your eyes. Some patients say that a tension headache feels like a tight band around their forehead.
 
Causes of tension headaches
Tension headaches are caused by muscle contractions in the head and neck regions. A variety of foods, activities, and stressors can cause these types of contractions. Some people develop tension headaches after staring at a computer screen for a long time or after driving for long periods. Cold temperatures may also trigger a tension headache.
 
Other triggers for tension headaches include:
 
  • alcohol
  • eye strain
  • dry eyes
  • fatigue
  • smoking
  • a cold or flu
  • a sinus infection
  • caffeine
  • poor posture
  • emotional stress
  •  
 
Symptoms of a tension headache include:
 
  • dull head pain
  • pressure around the forehead
  • tenderness around the forehead and scalp
  • The pain is usually mild or moderate, but it can also be intense. In this case, you might confuse your tension headache with a migraine, which is a type of headache that causes throbbing pain on one or both sides of your head. However, tension headaches don’t cause all the symptoms of migraines, such as nausea and vomiting. In rare cases, a tension headache can cause sensitivity to light and loud noise, similar to migraines. 
In severe cases, your doctor may run tests to rule out other problems, such as a brain tumor. Tests used to check for other conditions may include a CT scan, which uses X-rays to take pictures of your internal organs and an MRI, which can help your doctor examine your soft tissues.
 
Medications and home care
You can take over-the-counter (OTC) pain medications, such as ibuprofen or aspirin, to get rid of a tension headache. However, these should only be used occasionally. According to the Mayo Clinic, using OTC medications too much may lead to “overuse” or ”rebound” headaches. These types of headaches occur when you become so accustomed to a medication that you experience pain when the drugs wear off.
 
OTC drugs are sometimes not enough to treat recurring tension headaches. In such cases, your doctor may give you a prescription for medication, such as:
 
  • indomethacin
  • ketorolac
  • naproxen
  • opiates
  • prescription-strength acetaminophen
  • If painkillers are not working, your doctor may prescribe a muscle relaxant, which is a medication that helps stop muscle contractions. Your doctor may also prescribe an antidepressant such as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). SSRIs can stabilize your brain’s levels of serotonin and can help you cope with stress.
Your doctor may also recommend other treatments, such as:
 
stress management classes to teach you ways to cope with stress and how to relieve tension
biofeedback, which is a relaxation technique that teaches you to manage pain and stress
cognitive behavioral therapy, which is talk therapy that helps you recognize situations that cause you stress, anxiety, and tension
acupuncture, which is an alternative therapy that may reduce stress and tension by applying fine needles to specific areas of your body. 
 
Your Health Is Our Concern!
 
Mawuena Workartey/  Ghanahospitals.org
 

     
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