HEADACHES

HEADACHES are the commonest health complaint afflicting Mankind. A headache is often merely a symptom of another health problem in the body. Occasional or acute headaches can be bought on by such conditions as eyestrain, a sinus infection, or the flu. Stresses, allergies, blood clotting, dental factors, smoking, poor posture, and pelvic irritations are all among the causes of headaches.

Proper treatment of headaches first involves careful diagnosis to locate the actual source of the headache. It is next essential to treat the root condition, rather than attempting to mask its symptomatic effect with temporary measures, such as taking painkillers or tranquilizers.

Most headaches are caused by muscle contractions and by vascular irregularities (the alternating contraction and expansion of the arteries). Certain conditions such as brain tumors and irritations of facial nerves also cause headaches. The tension headache, the most common type of headaches, begins at the back of the neck or head, and spreads outwards with a dull non-throbbing pain. This type of headache involves excessive tension in the muscles of the face, head and neck. These headaches often feel like a big band has been placed around the head, and the pain is usually constant.

Two mechanisms relating to muscle contraction are nerve compression within the muscle, caused by poor posture, spinal misalignment, or physical and emotional stress; and nerve irritation caused by a buildup of metabolic waste resulting from decreased blood and lymph circulation due to poor diet, constipation, or other digestive problems; and in women, pelvic irritation.

Headaches caused by vascular irregularities, including migraine, cluster headaches and caffeine withdrawal headaches, involve alternating contraction and expansion of the arteries of the head, which exerts pressure on arterial nerves and causes a sharpened sense of pain.

Migraines
Migraines are more likely to happen during certain times of a woman’s cycle, usually at the beginning or end of her mense, and sometimes during ovulation. This indicates pelvic/ovarian weakness, inherited or acquired.

Migraine symptoms include light-headedness, throbbing pain on one side of the head, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, blurred vision, hot and cold flashes, and sensitivity to light and sound. Migraine pain is often severe and localised on one side of the head, usually involving the temple and eyes.

Cluster headaches
These are the most painful of headaches. They involve pain around the eyes, accompanied by tears and nasal congestion. Cluster headaches are much rarer than migraine headaches. They occur in periodic clusters that can last anywhere from several hours to a few weeks, then subside for a few hours. Sufferers of this type of headache might even bang their heads against the wall just to alter the sensation.

Headaches are thus extremely important and ought not to be ignored, because they can direct attention to other health problems that might otherwise have gone undetected. (The author is a qualified massage therapist, and can be reached @ 649-4227)
Written By Sally Habeeb

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