Tag Archives: Migraines

Tension Headaches: The Most Common of Headaches

Tension headaches are the most common type of headache. In fact, they cause nearly 90 percent of headaches and affect nearly everyone at some point in their lives. With pain and tightness radiating from the neck, back, eyes, and facial muscle groups, tension headaches can cause mild to severe pain. You can visit this link https://chicagoheadache.com/ to recover from headaches.

Tension headaches can last from half an hour to several days. On average, however, tension headaches last between four and six hours. Usually causing bilateral pain – pain that is evenly distributed on both sides of the head – a person with a tension headache often feels his head is under constant pressure, as if it is being pushed all the time. 

Although these types of headaches don't usually interfere with a person's life, when headaches are chronic or severe, they can be potentially very debilitating. From a scientific point of view, the causes of tension headaches are not entirely clear. 

While research has led previous experts to believe that tension headaches are caused by spasms in the muscles of the head and neck, experts now believe there may be more than one cause. The new reason they are investigating is a change in brain chemicals. 

It is based on the theory that the brain can misinterpret pain signals by interfering with the distribution of serotonin (a molecule that helps regulate body functions). Since stress headaches are relieved by some antidepressants (i.e. selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)), this theory has emerged as a valid argument.