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What is a “normal” headache?

What is a normal headache?

Headaches and Migraines – This is really one of the most frustrating things I hear in practice. When someone tells me about their “normal headache”. I remember having conversations with friends who used to describe their headaches as a normal part of their day, with the expectation that they would all get headaches every day.

From a physiology point of view, it would seem silly and completely maladaptive for the human body to make headaches a normal part of the body’s daily functions.

How do you know what kind of headache you have? What kinds of treatments are best for each headache? We’ll break all of that down today.

Tension headaches

These are the most common headaches and what most people classify as “normal headaches.” This type is known to have a compression-like band around the temples, forehead, or the back of the head. Many people call it a stress headache because it is made worse by a person’s response to stressful situations. These headaches are typically mechanical in nature (tight muscles, associated with neck pain)

There is a lot of variation in the duration and intensity of this type of headache. Although the pain can become severe (up to an 8 or 9/10 on the pain scale), the lack of neurological symptoms implies that the nature of the headache has a different origin.

Most people control these headaches with massage, over-the-counter medications, and conventional chiropractic to provide short-term relief. Things like yoga and stress management techniques are also popular treatments.

Migraines

A severe headache is NOT the same as a migraine. It is important to recognize this because the nature of a migraine goes beyond mechanical dysfunction. Migraines are characterized by abnormalities in blood flow to the brain, creating a few different neurological symptoms. Most migraines have:

– Intense headache
– Sensitivity to light
– Aura and other visual disturbances.
– nausea
– Feeling of pins and needles
– After the headache hangover

Treatments generally go beyond over-the-counter medications. Medications like Imitrix are used during attacks and preventative medications like propanolol are used to reduce the cases. Botox injections are also an emerging therapy of choice for many physicians. Lifestyle management includes managing caffeine.

Other headaches

Of course, there are several other types of headaches. Things like cluster headaches, sinus headaches, and trigeminal nerve pain fall within the spectrum of common headaches. Another emerging class of headaches includes those that come from chronic use of pain relievers, which has led to the search for new drugs or non-drug therapies to try to control this common debilitating problem.

The truth is, because many people experience headaches differently, it would be best to find out where the headaches have something in common.

The craniocervical junction and the trigeminal nucleus

The craniocervical junction is a fancy term for where the head meets the neck. A great deal of research is being done on this part of the body due to the large role it plays in the brain and in neurology in general. One of the things they have discovered is that this part of the body has a great influence on a part of the spinal cord called the trigeminal nucleus.

The trigeminal nucleus is where the nerve cells exist that provide innervation to the head, neck, face, jaw, the outer covering of the brain, and the blood vessels of the brain. Here’s a surprising fact:

The brain itself does not feel pain.

When you feel pain in your head, it comes from the outer covering of the brain called the meninges and from the blood vessels. All of these structures feed into the trigeminal nucleus and this piece of anatomy tells our brain what it should feel like.

Symmetry matters

In the world of upper cervical chiropractic, we find that the symmetry of the upper cervical spine is important. When you lose the normal structural symmetry of the spine, the trigeminal nucleus is less likely to function properly. This is why headache patients generally respond so quickly to this kind of unique care.

Of course, it may not help everyone with headaches. The truth is, headaches can be affected by tumors, chemicals, and even food in select cases. However, it is likely that a large majority of headaches in the population are secondary to a structural change in the head and neck.