Almost everyone has been there before: the nagging headache that causes a throbbing or stabbing pain in your head. Headaches are common, but headache frequency, impact, intensity, duration, and causation vary case by case.
As specialists of orofacial pain, we treat many patients for different types of headaches.
The five main types of headache disorders are migraines, new daily persistent headaches, tension-type headaches, cluster headaches, and headaches caused by other conditions.
Migraines are much more severe than most headaches. A migraine headache is an excruciating headache that often causes multiple neurological symptoms like dizziness and nausea, severe sensitivity to light and sound, and intense, throbbing pain on one or both sides of the head.
The most distinct factor is that migraine headaches occur as a neurological disorder, causing severe pain anywhere from a few hours to multiple days. A chronic migraine can be debilitating for many.
Chronic daily headaches often characterize what’s called New Daily Persistent Headache Disorder (NDPHD). Individuals living with this condition experience migraine headache symptoms daily, with an abrupt onset. This sudden daily pain is why this disorder is also nicknamed the thunderclap headache.
The symptoms and piercing pain from thunderclap headaches can be inconvenient at best. Typically, this disorder is disabling, lasting for several months at a time.
Tension-type headaches are the most common type of headache. For this reason, you might’ve experienced this kind of headache more regularly. Tension headache symptoms involve dull, aching pain accompanied by pressure around the head. These kinds of headaches are usually provoked by muscle tension, poor posture, and inadequate stress management.
Nausea and vomiting that typically occur with migraines are usually not present with tension headaches, but sensitivity to light and sound often do.
Cluster headaches are one extremely painful headache type that manifests cyclically or in clusters, which patients endure for several weeks to months.
A typical cluster headache will come on abruptly, inducing intense pain in one or both eyes or sides of the head. Other signs may include congestion, runny nose, weepy eyes, anxiety, and irritable mood.
With several different types of headaches, understanding the underlying cause of the headache pain can often be challenging. Here, we’ll explore what triggers primary headaches and additional factors that can increase your risk.
Headaches commonly occur due to hundreds of different triggers. However, some factors might put a person at a higher risk of experiencing headaches. For instance, women are three times more likely than men to develop migraine headaches.
Adults and teens are at much greater risk of experiencing migraine headaches if they are smokers, rarely exercise, or are obese.
Many secondary causes of headaches are serious and life-threatening, but they are much less common than primary causes. These sources include:
You might wake up with a headache for many reasons, depending on what will trigger headaches for you. A few of these reasons include insufficient sleep, excessive electronic use and light exposure, alcohol consumption, high blood pressure, dehydration, emotional stress, and eating certain foods.
Potential solutions are straightforward, including eating a healthy diet that works well with your body chemistry, drinking plenty of water, reducing alcohol consumption, limiting electronics use near bedtime, implementing a calming routine to relieve stress before bed, and ensuring your overall bedroom environment supports restful sleep.
If morning headaches persist after you make these improvements in your diet and sleep environment and establish them as true habits, it’s definitely time to schedule a sleep study with a specialist near you.
The neck and head exist in close proximity, as they’re both parts of the axial skeleton. Any pain in the neck requires medical assessment and attention, as pain can be a complication of severe conditions. Sometimes, however, pain can result from something simple like poor posture.
Spinal headaches are one of the more serious conditions connected to neck and head pain; they’re caused by spinal fluid leaks after spinal taps. Although they are usually treatable without a doctor’s visit, prolonged headaches of this type without treatment can lead to dangerous complications such as seizures or even death.
Over-the-counter medications like pain relievers generally help relieve a chronic tension-type headache. However, as with any pain medication, you should carefully monitor the frequency of use and avoid instances of preventative use whenever possible.
Your physician can prescribe more potent pain relievers for cluster, chronic perpetual, or migraine headaches, but there’s a better, safer, and less addictive option called Triptans. Unlike traditional prescription medications for pain, Triptans “reprogram” your brain’s pain signals and the flow of circulation in blood vessels. Other forms of Triptans for severe headaches include injectables and nasal sprays.
Low blood sugar, food-sensitive foods like gluten or lactose intolerance, dehydration, and food allergies are some factors that might cause a headache after eating a snack or meal. Even patients without special dietary needs or restrictions can experience headaches after eating for two significant reasons:
To prevent headaches after you eat, stick to the basics: eat a healthy diet, drink plenty of water, and cut out foods that trigger adverse reactions or pain. If you aren’t sure where to begin improving your daily diet, ask your primary physician about a referral to a nutrition specialist.
Your teeth and jaws are connected to your skull, so it’s easy to see how triggering the sensitive nerves in your teeth and jaw area can lead to a headache. As specialists in dental sleep medicine and orofacial pain, we often see patients who suffer from intense headaches and dental pain simultaneously. One condition we treat regularly is TMJ pain disorder, which frequently leads to headaches.
Diagnosing your type of headache by a professional is essential in finding the proper treatment. Relief for recurring headaches requires an accurate diagnosis to be successful. Many people will self-diagnose with information found online, but getting your type of headache diagnosed properly and implementing a treatment plan by a board-certified physician is preferable.
Treatment options will largely depend on the type of headache you have. To give you the best treatment possible, we will work directly with your primary physician and other specialists you’ve seen and catalog a comprehensive headache history.
A severe headache might also be a symptom of an underlying health problem that requires further medical attention.
At TMJ and Sleep Solutions of Alabama, we are experts in orofacial pain, often a source of headaches. If you’ve tried everything to get your headaches treated and nothing seems to work, you may be suffering from TMD or another type of TMJ disorder.
Please book an appointment with us today for a comprehensive consultation from Birmingham’s leading TMJ and orofacial pain specialists.