Muscle Tension Headache: Symptoms And Causes

Many people mistake muscle tension headache for migraines. This is quite understandable considering that muscle tension headache or neck tension headache can be as bad and as painful as a migraine. However, medical experts caution against lumping together muscle tension headache with migraine. These two types of headaches requires different types of treatments so it is very important to know which type of headache you have before you seek treatment. To help you determine if you have a migraine or muscle tension headache, here are some tips of you.

Symptoms

Muscle tension headaches do not come with throbbing pain like migraines. When you have muscle tension headache, you feel this vice-like pressure around your head. It is as if someone has put a very tight band around your forehead and is threatening to crush your skull. The pain here is constant and can range from being mild to severe. The duration of the headache vary from person to person. Mild cases of muscle tension headaches may last for a few hours while severe tension headaches could last for several days. Severe cases of muscle tension headaches are often accompanied by nausea and vomiting. Medications such as pain reliever usually do not bring lasting relief in this case. In the end, the patient will have to live the constant pain for hours or days for that matter.

Although this type of headache is not necessarily fatal and may go away on its own without treatment, an episode can leave one tired, drained and sometimes. Many experts believe that people who suffer from this type of headache are more prone to depression compared to those who do not have this type of headache. Well, who would not be depressed if you suffer from painful episodes that last for days?

Causes

While most experts still cannot come up with clear explanation why some people suffer from migraines from time to time, medical experts knows what cause muscle tension headache. According to experts, this type of headache is cause by muscle spasms around the upper back, shoulders, neck and face. More often than not, this type of headache is closely associated with stress and bad posture. Since the cause of the pain is known, most medical experts believe that the pain can be prevented. People who have history of muscle tension headaches should learn to avoid stress as much as possible. They should also watch their posture and make sure that they not slouch and put undue pressure on the muscles on their shoulders, back and neck.