Headaches - Who Is At Risk?
Are there types of people that are at a greater risk of getting headaches? Scientists have yet to identify a definitive cause of headaches, but the studies do identify likely triggers. The triggers are different depending on the type of headache, cluster, migraine, and tension headaches all have different triggers.
Tension headaches are so-named because they are believed to be the result of (and to produce) different kinds of muscle tension. The risk factors for that are, not surprisingly, related to the different ways that can happen.
Something as simple as holding a phone for an extended period between the ear and shoulder, for example, can contribute to causing a headache. The muscles are stretched and compressed in a fairly unnatural position and the result is inflammation, constriction of blood flow, stretched fascia and tendons, and so forth. The end result is often a headache.
Or, in those who have the chronic habit, teeth clenching or grinding are common risk factors. This is similar to TMJ disorders in which the temporomandibular joint connecting the jaw to the skull is irritated. This can often happen at night during sleep when the person has no conscious control.
But more subtle and surprising risk factors are at work as well.
Family history is one of the clearest indicators of who is at risk, for all types. Migraines have a strong tendency to run in families, while 40% of those with tension headaches share a family history with sufferers. Genetics is clearly a factor.
Depression, whether genetic or environmental is a factor. Which is cause and which is effect can be difficult to sort out, but depression is correlated with 70% of those who suffer chronic daily headache. In all likelihood there is a reciprocal relationship. Those who suffer from anemia, more often women (who tend to need extra iron), are at greater risk of headache.
Those who suffer from insomnia or sleep apnea are more prone to headaches. Though both may be the result of underlying factors (more so than one being the cause of the other), they are frequently associated. Anxiety, whether during the day or at night, often accompanies the pair of causes.
Gender is a factor, in all types of headaches. Women are at greater risk than men for both tension headaches and migraines. In the latter case, around 17% of women get them, while only about 6% of men, according to one large study. Cluster headaches, in which pain occurs for short periods every day for weeks, more frequently affect men, however.
The reasons, the precise differences that produce the different percentages are unclear. But differences in lifestyle can largely be discounted these days, with women in the workplace as often as men.
Some lifestyle differences that can be common to both sexes are definite risk factors, though. Skipping meals, drinking excess alcohol (especially red wine, though 'excess' varies from person to person), stress and sometimes even excess exercise can increase the risk of headache.
There are some aspects that contribute to headaches that cannot be changed. Gender and family history are beyond the control of the headache sufferer. Some activities in a person's lifestyle can act as headache triggers. Changing the lifestyle factors that are within the patient's control will have beneficial results. For people who consistently suffer from headaches, getting a medical evaluation from a physician is a key starting point in treatment.
If you feel it, you feel it.
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Altering the level of calcium in a Bufferin-like medication (composed of aspirin and buffered with calcium carbonate) can make a difference for some people. Second generation triptans now on the market are even more effective than the original drugs. In more severe cases, the treatment options become muddier. While the causes of headaches are not completely understood, modern research contradicts the long held belief in the tension cause. Combating depression with drugs and/or therapy is a wise and healthy choice and will have an impact on headaches. Anti-seizure medications are sometimes used as part of a preventive strategy.
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