Headaches: What causes them and how to treat them

Tension Headache
Location
Tightness around the head like a band. Tightening may occur across the forehead, temples, back of the head and neck.
 
What It Feels Like
A dull, achy, pressure-like pain. Unlike a migraine, it's a more diffuse, less intense pain felt on both sides. The back of the neck, at the base of the skull, may hurt, too.  

Prevalence
The most common type of headache. Nearly 90 per cent of women and about 70 per cent of men will get a tension headache during their lifetime, while 37 per cent of women and 21 per cent of men experience them regularly.  

Frequency and Duration
Extremely variable; can last for a few minutes, a few hours or be constant. Episodic tension headaches are usually brief and occur occasionally, but chronic tension headaches occur 15 or more days a month.

Triggers
Muscular tension, stress, depression and anxiety are common triggers. Others may include lack of sleep, missing meals, inactivity, poor posture, eyestrain, caffeine, alcohol and overuse of pain relievers.

Treatments
Effective treatment often involves a combination of lifestyle changes and appropriate use of pain relievers. Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Advil) and acetylsalicylic acid or ASA (Aspirin), may provide fast-acting pain relief, but it's important to limit the use of pain relievers. With any headaches, in addition to possible side-effects, such as stomach problems, there is the huge problem of medication overuse. Taking pain relievers too often, or in larger-than-recommended doses, can cause low-grade, persistent rebound headaches.
   
Prevention
Many people with chronic tension headaches suffer from depression. Tricyclic antidepressants, such as amitriptyline, are commonly used to help reduce the frequency and intensity of headaches. Anticonvulsants, such as divalproex (Depakote), used to treat epilepsy, have also proven to be effective for chronic headaches. Lifestyle changes and nondrug therapies can have a major impact on the frequency and severity of chronic tension headaches.

Page 2 of 5