MIGRAINE AND HEADACHE PAIN

WHAT IS IT?

A headache refers to a painful sensation experienced in the head, scalp and neck. There are many different types of headaches – and your specific category of headache will influence the treatment strategy for your underlying painful condition. Different categories of headache include: sinus headaches, tension headaches, cluster headaches, thunderclap headaches and migraine headaches.

A criteria for the diagnosis of a migraine headache requires at least five attacks fulfilling the following:

• Headache duration of 4-72hrs
• The headache possessing at least two of the following qualities: unilteral location, pulsating quality, moderate or severe pain intensity, aggravation by physical activity
• At least one of the following experienced during the headache: nausea and/or vomiting, photophobia (sensitive to light) and phonophobia (sensitive to sound)

Chronic migraine is characterised by the experience of migraine headaches for at least 15 days each month.

MIGRAINE AND HEADACHE PAIN

WHAT CAUSES IT?

General causes or triggers for headaches can include:

• Poor posture at work, home and when driving
• Bright lights, prolonged reading, loud noise
• Medication overuse
• Stress and anxiety
• Fatigue, emotional upsets and depression

Researchers have not agreed upon a single cause of migraine headaches. Potential explanations include an underlying disorder of the central nervous system, irregularity in the blood vessels and chemicals in the brain, or genetic predisposition.