|
what are they?
Few people have not suffered a headache at one time or another and some are especially susceptible. There are several different types.
tension headaches
Tension headaches are the most common, causing a dull, throbbing pain and a feeling of pressure or tightness in the scalp or neck.
migraine
Migraine is another relatively common form of headache, although only 6% of people who regularly complain of headaches have migraine as such.
Symptoms include:
- Severe, often throbbing pain usually concentrated on one side of the head
- Nausea and/or vomiting
- Dislike of noise or bright lights and/or disturbed vision
-
The headache may be preceded by an aura or prodromal phase, during which there are visual disturbances and symptom such as tiredness, difficulty in concentrating, stiff neck and yawning.
cluster headaches
These are another common type of headache, so called because they occur in bouts, often at around the same time every day for a period of time and then stop. They affect men more than women, especially heavy smokers and/or drinkers. They cause a piercing pain in and around an eye which may be watery and inflamed.
Caution
Headaches can occasionally be a symptom of serious disease. Seek medical help immediately if you experience your first ever headache out of the blue, a headache is sudden and severe; is accompanied by fever, stiff neck, rash, confusion, seizures, weakness, numbness or speaking problems, worsens after an injury to the head; or is the worst headache you have ever experienced.
what causes them?
The exact causes of headaches are not fully understood. However muscular tension in the shoulders, neck and face can often be a trigger or a sign that a headache is impending. Other headaches may be sparked off by biochemical imbalances in the body caused by not drinking enough fluids, or by too much caffeine and alcohol. Daily headaches that come on just after you wake up in the morning may be attributable to low blood sugar.
Migraine and some other types of headaches are caused by narrowing and widening of blood vessels in the brain. It's now thought that this may be sparked by alterations in levels of brain chemicals such as serotonin.
Migraine can be triggered off by a variety of different factors including:
- Lack of sleep or food
- Alcohol
- Caffeine
- Food intolerance
- Being in a smoky environment
- Hormonal changes at menstruation, during pregnancy or menopause, when taking the pill or HRT
- Strong smells, noise, changes in the weather
- Stress and tension
- Postural or muscular tension and overbreathing may also be factors in sparking off headaches.
how complementary therapies may help
Each therapy has been coded from 1 to 5 depending on the amount of scientific evidence there is for its effectiveness. The higher the number the stronger the evidence, so 5 = definitely, 4 = probably, 3 = possibly, 2 = opinion, and 1 = rumour. (There is more detail about these in the 'does it work?' section of 'before you start'.)
Having said this, the codes aren't meant to be cast in stone or to put you off trying a particular therapy or therapies if you feel they might be helpful to you.
Go to therapies for a full description of each individual treatment, plus information on how to find practitioners.
biofeedback and relaxation
(code 4)
Learning to relax at will and monitoring your response using a biofeedback machine has been shown to help ease migraine and may be effective in other types of headaches.
nutritional therapy
(code 4)
A nutritional therapist may put you on an exclusion diet to see if your headaches or migraine may be triggered by food intolerance. A practitioner will probably advise you to keep a food diary to identify the culprits so you can leave out any trigger foods. S/he may prescribe supplements such as magnesium and vitamin B2 which have been found in some studies to help ease migraine.
acupuncture
(code 3)
According to Chinese thinking, headaches are caused by an imbalance in the flow of the body's life force or chi in the yang channel in the head. Treatment is aimed at freeing the flow of chi by inserting needles at acupoints linked to the gall bladder, large intestine, stomach, small intestine governor and bladder.
Treatment can help both prevent headaches and migraine and ease the pain of an acute headache. You'll probably need a course of several treatments for maximum effect. The therapist may also show you how to stimulate pressure points, such as the fleshy area between the thumb and forefinger to preempt a headache and/or prevent it worsening.
herbal medicine
(code 3)
The precise herbs prescribed will vary depending on your symptoms. They may include calming herbs such as chamomile, lime flowers, valerian, skullcap and wild lettuce together with stimulating herbs such as rosemary and peppermint. The big success story in herbal treatment is feverfew which has been proved to prevent migraine when taken fresh and daily. It's thought to work by quelling the release of serotonin.
homeopathy
(code 3)
Constitutional treatment is usually recommended especially for chronic headaches and migraine. Specific remedies may be suggested for certain types of headache depending on symptoms. These may include aconite, for headaches that feel as if there is a tight band around the head, belladonna for a throbbing headache with feelings of heat, ruta for a headache with a feeling of pressure and bruising and fatigue that is eased by resting.
Alexander technique
(code 2)
May be useful for headaches caused by postural imbalances such as overcontraction of the neck muscles. The teacher will correct your posture and teach you how to release these muscles.
chiropractic and osteopathy
(code 1)
Structural imbalances in the neck and spine can cause chronic tension. Although research studies have failed to confirm that manipulation techniques are generally helpful for headaches, if you have obvious tender points in your neck and suspect that they may be contributing to headaches, it may be worth being checked by an osteopath or chiropractor.
Cranial osteopathy is a type of very gentle manipulation that is said to help encourage the flow of the spinal fluid.
Its effectiveness in treating headaches and migraine has not yet been established by scientific research, although there are anecdotal reports of its usefulness
other therapies
A number of other therapies may be useful for headaches brought on by stress and tension. These include autogenic therapy , hypnotherapy and massage .
» help and info
If you have further questions, why not search the extensive bank of answers provided by our trained advisors? Check out just ask.
For details of other organisations, websites and publications go to our get help directory.
(July 2002)
|
