Headache World

While headaches are a common part of everyday life and the classifications of headaches are many, as well as extensive studies have been done into this topic, the exact causes of these common problems, at least on a physiological level, are still not entirely clear. Only with recent advances in imaging hardware are doctors beginning to gain a greater understanding of headache causes, though the exact nature of many headaches is still unclear.

Headaches are almost always induced by what is referred to as a “trigger”, or a particular item that causes a reaction within a person’s body to result in a headache. These triggers can range from the particular frequencies of a sound wave to dietary intake and even the way one sits. It helps to draw attention to these causes in terms of the two most commonly referred to headaches known as tension headaches and migraines.

In the case of tension headaches, sometimes referred to as “work headaches”, these typically stem from environmental factors and how they affect people both psychologically and physiologically. Stress, fatigue, overwork and inaction connected to work and life in general can leave a person with this kind of pain that constitutes the greater part of most headaches not connected to illness. Research has shown that, at least in part, these headaches are created by spasms or contractions in the muscles of the face, neck and back and not some disease or ailment. Poor posture, stress and tiredness, as well as some physical deformities can lead to this happening.

The other kind of headache is a migraine, though this is actually an over-used term generically applied to mean a serious headache. Migraines are quite difficult in determining what exactly is the specific cause of them, though in many cases the things that have been known to trigger them are similar to tension headaches. The effect these have on the person is different, however, in that migraines are generally considered to be dilation of the veins and arteries that cause extreme pain and other issues while tension headaches are generally nowhere near as severe.

Undergoing research into the deeper cause of headaches of both types is based on the trigeminal nerve, located in the brain stem, and the effect it has on the brain’s production of a chemical called serotonin. This chemical is an agent associated with sleep and the brain’s ability to censor stimulus to lock on to what is important and what is not (for example, listening to someone’s voice on the phone whilst in a crowded room full of other people chatting). It also is linked with sleep and is the brain’s natural pain killer which is released upon receiving a nerve signal registering as pain.

Some recent studies have shown a strong association with patients with low serotonin levels experiencing headaches, whereas those with more do not. Future studies hope to shed more light on these areas and thus lead to effective cures for the people who suffer from more than just the occasional head pain.

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