A headache, no matter what type, can be extremely painful and sometimes debilitating. Since there are various types, there are also various ways that headaches evolve. What exactly happens when a headache occurs? Different areas of the head can be affected, and three general headache patterns involve such areas as the muscles, blood vessels, or nerves.
Primary Headaches
Primary headaches have no other underlying conditions or illnesses that cause them. These headaches just happen. There are three major types, including tension headaches (the most common), migraine headaches, and cluster headaches. All three types cause different reactions in the head.
- Tension Headaches
Tension headaches are thought to be caused by muscle tension/contractions originating in the neck, shoulders, skull, or forehead. These muscles can tighten (contract) due to stress, poor posture, lack of sleep, and eye strain. Just like in other areas of the body, muscle straining in the head can cause pain.
- Migraine Headaches
Migraine headaches are thought to be vascular in origin. This means that blood vessels in the head enlarge or shrink, causing typical migraine pain. The reason for this dilation and constriction of vessels is not well-known, but migraine headaches are now being considered a neurological disorder which could be genetic in nature. The shrinking of vessels is thought to cause migraine visual disturbances prior to the onset of the headache. The vessels then dilate, causing migraine headache pain.
- Cluster Headaches
Cluster headaches, the least common form of primary headaches, can cause excruciating pain. This pain centers around the eye area, often on one side. Cluster headache pain originates from the stimulation of the trigeminal nerve, the main facial nerve. This stimulation triggers the severe eye pain characteristic of cluster headaches. This type of headache also causes vascular dilations and contractions, but the primary cause of pain is from the trigeminal nerve.
Secondary Headaches
Secondary headaches, caused by other illnesses, traumas, or brain disorders, can be just as excruciating as primary headaches. The difference is that a secondary headache is the symptom of another problem, not the primary problem.
Secondary head pain can be caused by nerve stimulation and irritation and/or blood vessel dilation, pressure, or constriction. An example of a secondary headache is one that is caused by an infection, which sends a message to the nerves in the brain, signaling pain. Conditions that might cause secondary headaches include bacterial or viral infections, strokes, brain infections, tumors, hemorrhages, or brain malformations.
*****For more information on headaches, read Tension Headache Overview and Alternative Migraine Therapies.
References:
http://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/brain/headache/head.about.htm
http://www.montefiore.org/healthlibrary/adult/neuro/headache/
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