Tension headaches are also known as stress headaches, muscle contraction headaches and non-progressive headaches. These are the most common type of headaches and affect 30 to 80 percent of the adult population. One of the primary tension headache symptoms is that the pain radiates in the eyes, muscles of the neck and other muscles of the body.

Tension headaches can be episodic as well as chronic and can last from a few minutes, hours and days to several years. A single episode usually lasts for 4 or 5 hours.

Tension Headache symptoms:

The pain associated with tension headache is either constant or throbbing.

Tension headache pain is bilateral which means that it can be felt on both sides of the head at the same time.

The pain is accompanied by fatigue, inability to concentrate and irritability.

The pain ranges from mild to severe and some patients complain that their head is being squeezed in a vice.

The headache lingers on even when a person has woken up from deep sleep.

An individual with this type of headache often has difficulty in falling or staying asleep

Tension headache can also be accompanied by a feeling of dizziness.

The different factors that trigger tension headaches are as follows:

Stress and emotional tension are the main causes of this type of headache.

Tension headache occurs mainly in the afternoons when one is tired after the long stressful hours of work.

In case you sleep or work for long in an uncomfortable and stressful position the headache is triggered.

Hunger and irregular meal timings also lead to tension headaches.

Eyestrain for any reason also causes this type of headache.

Caffeine withdrawal also results in stress headaches.

Treatment of tension headaches:

The symptoms of tension headache can be treated by restricting the cause that seems to have triggered it.

Medication: Episodic headaches respond well to analgesics such as ibuprofen, paracetamol and acetaminophen. Chronic tension headaches are usually treated with amitriptyline, mirtazapine and sodium valporate. In many cases, the patients are also given botulinum toxin but certain studies have shown that this can also have a negative impact on individuals as it may increase the tension instead of reducing it. Some doctors also prescribe antidepressants to treat this type of headaches.

Stress management Programs: These programs focus on eliminating stress from the system by means of recreation, exercising, meditation, talk therapy, guided imagery and other means.

Biofeedback: This scientifically validated technique enables individuals to relax in their surroundings and helps them control the functioning of their body. Through biofeedback the patients are taught to train their body and understand the different signals given from within. This helps them counter the symptoms before a full fledged illness occurs.