What Does Headache Location Mean

How Are Headaches Treated

One of the most crucial aspect of treating headaches is figuring out your triggers. Learning what those are typically by keeping a headache log can reduce the number of headaches you have.

Once you know your triggers, your healthcare provider can tailor treatment to you. For example, you may get headaches when youre tense or worried. Counseling and stress management techniques can help you handle this trigger better. By lowering your stress level, you can avoid stress-induced headaches.

Not every headache requires medication. A range of treatments is available. Depending on your headache type, frequency and cause, treatment options include:

Stress management

Stress management teaches you ways to cope with stressful situations. Relaxation techniques are helpful in managing stress. You use deep breathing, muscle relaxation, mental images and music to ease your tension.

Biofeedback

Biofeedback teaches you to recognize when tension is building in your body. You learn how your body responds to stressful situations and ways to settle it down. During biofeedback, sensors are connected to your body. They monitor your involuntary physical responses to headaches, which include increases in:

• Breathing rate.
• Brain activity.

Medications

Occasional tension headaches usually respond well to over-the-counter pain relievers. But be aware that using these medications too often can lead to a long-term daily headache.

Find Relief By Understanding Headache Locations

The key to ridding yourself of a stubborn headache is to understand what the different headache locations mean. Because what helps soothe a sinus headache wont work on a tension headache, and a tension headache remedy wont help a cluster headache.

Locations of headaches help to uncover the causes of headaches. And when you know the cause, youre better equipped to cure it!

To learn more about understanding and protecting your health, take a look at our blog!

Location: In Your Temples

“Many headache disorders can occur in the temples, including migraines or tension-type headaches,” Dr. Monteith says.

However, sometimes pain in the temples can be due to a rare condition known as temporal arteritis, she adds. More common in people over the age of 50, temporal arteritis occurs when the blood vessels near the temples become inflamed and constricted, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

In addition to a throbbing, constant headache, other symptoms may involve:

• Jaw pain that may become worse after chewing
• Tenderness at the scalp or temples
• Vision problems

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Sudden Pain In Head Neck And Back

If a headache comes on suddenly in your head, neck or back, causing severe pain and perhaps accompanied by vomiting or nausea, it may be a thunderclap headache. The pain lasts only a few minutes, but it can be caused by bleeding in the brain. If you have these symptoms, get medical help immediately by calling 911 or going to an emergency room . These headaches are rare, but in some situations they can be life-threatening.

Common Headache Types By Location

The headaches people usually get are tension headaches, migraines, and cluster headaches. Cluster headaches don’t happen as often, but men are five times more likely to get them.

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Headache Locations: Where Is The Ache

Use the chart below to find out what type of headache you may have based on where the pain is.

The most common are tension headaches and migraines.

Cluster headaches are more rare but tend to be linked to a specific area, making it easier to know when you may have one.

Tension, migraine and cluster headaches are all forms of primary headache. This means theyre not caused by a specific health condition, injury or illness.

They’re usually caused by an everyday problem such as skipping meals, not drinking enough water or poor posture.

When you have a headache you should always try to stay hydrated and get plenty of rest.

How To Diagnose And Treat Your Headaches

There are many aspects to a headache and location is only a piece of the puzzle. To get the right treatment for your headache, you need the right diagnosis. And that starts with an appointment with your health care provider.

Its always good to speak with your doctor if your headache starts to interfere with your everyday life, if the headaches youve had are suddenly different or if they seem to be progressing in severity or frequency, Dr. Yancy said.

Your health care provider will want to know the quality of the pain, how often your headaches occur, how long they last, the severity, the patterns to time of onset and whether the pain worsens with changes in body position. Its also helpful to determine if the headaches are associated with other symptoms, such as sensitivity to lights and sounds, visual changes, dizziness, weakness and numbness, Dr. Yancy advised.

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Treating Sinus Headaches With Advent

While sinus headaches may be confused with migraines or tension headaches, they are common if you suffer from sinusitis or have issues within The Breathing Triangle®.

Not to worry, there are many simple in-office solutions for you to solve your chronic sinus headaches. In fact, ADVENT has helped over 30,000 people get to the root of their sinus and sleep issues for good…

Headache Location Can Reveal Cause

Sometimes a headache feels like its everywhere. But for the headaches that feel localized to a specific spot, that location can help you determine the cause, and subsequently, the solution.

For example, a headache that is centralized at the front of your head could be a tension headache, a sinus headache, a dehydration headache, or even an eyestrain headache. If you have a headache in the front of your head, it may be a good idea to down a glass of water, look away from your computer screen, or pop an allergy pill before you break out the big guns of pain relief. Headaches at the front of the head could also be migraines although a migraine is usually more easily spotted by its side effects than by its location.

Alternatively, if your headache is centered on the top of your head, you might be suffering from a cough or exertion headache. Overexerting yourself through physical activity, such as running or sports, or even accidentally through passive exertion, such as sneezing or coughing, could trigger this kind of headache.

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How Do Medical Professionals Diagnose Cluster Headaches

The diagnosis of cluster headache is made by taking the patient’s history. The description of the pain and its clock-like recurrence is usually enough to make the diagnosis.

If examined in the midst of an attack, the patient usually is in a painful crisis and may have the eye and nose watering as described previously. If the patient is seen when the pain is not present, the physical examination is normal and the diagnosis will depend upon the history.

What Diseases Cause Secondary Headaches

Headache is a symptom associated with many illnesses. While head pain itself is the issue with primary headaches, secondary headaches are due to an underlying disease or injury that needs to be diagnosed and treated. Controlling the headache symptom will need to occur at the same time that diagnostic testing is performed to identify the underlying disease. Some of the causes of secondary headache may be potentially life threatening and deadly. Early diagnosis and treatment is essential if damage is to be limited.

The International Headache Society lists eight categories of secondary headache. A few examples in each category are noted .

Head and neck trauma

• Injuries to the head may cause bleeding in the spaces between the meninges, the layers of tissue that surround the brain or within the brain tissue itself .
• Edema or swelling within the brain, not associated with bleeding, may cause pain and a change in mental function.
• Concussions, where head injury occurs without bleeding. Headache is one of the hallmarks of post-concussion syndrome.
• Whiplash and neck injury also cause head pain.

Blood vessel problems in the head and neck

• Temporal arteritis

Non-blood vessel problems of the brain

Medications and drugs

Infection

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Headache Location Help In Plano Texas

A headache is no fun. When we get one, we want relief and we want it fast. Some are more easily treated than others.

If your headache is a problem for you, be sure to get checked out by your doctor as soon as possible. The Pain Relief Center and its five specialized institutes are dedicated to meeting any and all of a patients needs. We have an institute designed specifically with patients who suffer with chronic headaches and migraines. At our pain management clinic Dallas TX location, Dr. Rodriguez, and his staff are devoted to offering cutting-edge treatments and moving beyond traditional pain management regimens that fail to free you from your pain. Schedule a consultation today!

TAKE ACTION

The most critical step on the path to recovery is finding a pain management doctor who can address your pain management needs successfully. The Pain Relief Center and its five specialized institutes are dedicated to meeting any and all of a patients needs. Located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Dr. Rodriguez and his friendly staff will help you along the path to recovery.

Our new center in Dallas is part of a nationwide development by Pain Relief Centers, geared to providing individualized and comprehensive healing and pain management services with unprecedented levels of compassion, care, and comfort for each patient.

Centers & Institutes

How Accurate Are Headache Maps

Does pain in your forehead really mean youre stressed?

Be it prolonged eye strain from transitioning between the good screen and the bad screen or stress-induced jaw clenching, the anxiety of living through our current hellscape has me suffering near-daily headaches. Or at least, thats my highly unscientific assessment. Because to be honest, Im mostly just regurgitating information I glean from grainy headache maps on the internet that look like this:

Ill find one online and turn to my wife to say something like, This headache is behind my eyes, so I guess that means Im dehydrated and/or stressed. Similar to the abundance of misleading health claims about hydration, headache maps are everywhere, each one communicating a variation of the same information on different heads. The simple, vague diagrams are so ubiquitous that theyve become a category of memes unto themselves.

As such, it would obviously be impossible to fact-check every headache map in existence. But what about the overarching concept? Does the severity and location of your headache really mean anything?

Sorta.

As easy as it is to say pain in your forehead means youre stressed, its more complicated than that. To start, there are actually many different types of headaches, but the three most common are tension, migraine and cluster. Each is caused by different things, and manifests in different ways.

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Causes Of Headache Behind The Eye

Migraines

These headaches often begin with pain around your eye and temple. They can spread to the back of your head. You might also have an aura, which can include visual signs like a halo or flashing lights that sometimes come before the pain starts.

You may also have nausea, a runny nose, or congestion. You could be sensitive to light, sounds, or smells. Migraine headaches can last several hours to a few days.

Tension headaches

These are the most common types of headaches. They usually cause a dull pain on both sides of your head or across the front of your head, behind your eyes. Your shoulders and neck may also hurt. Tension headaches might last 20 minutes to a few hours.

Cluster headaches

These cause severe pain around your eyes, often around just one eye. They usually come in groups. You may have several of them every day for weeks and then not have any for a year or more before they start again.

Along with the pain, you may also have watery eyes, congestion, and a red, flushed face. The attacks last 30 to 60 minutes and are so strong that you may be restless and can’t stand still while they happen. Cluster headaches aren’t very common and mostly happen in men.

Sinus headaches

A sinus infection can cause a headache around your eyes, nose, forehead, cheeks, and upper teeth. This is where your sinuses are. Youâll often also have a fever, congestion, and a thick nasal discharge. The pain usually gets worse throughout the day.

Eyestrain

Headache On Both Sides Of Your Head

If you feel a dull pain on both sides of your head, accompanied by a feeling of pressure, it is likely a tension headache. It may also be felt in the neck and shoulders because tension headaches develop when the scalp and neck muscles tense up, oftentimes due to stress. Tension headaches can also be due to alcohol, caffeine, eye strain, and tiredness, among other causes. Over-the-counter pain relievers can help, but they can have side effects or lead to rebound headaches if used too often. Try to avoid triggers and consider relaxation techniques, such as massage or biofeedback.

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Headache Locations And Their Causes

Headaches are one of the most common ailments in the world, and where your pain is located can sometimes tell you something about the cause and how to stop the pain. There are more than 150 types of headaches, but most often they are primary headaches which dont have an underlying cause like high blood pressure. Only about 1% of headaches are caused by tumors. Here are some of the most common headaches, where they hurt, what their location means, and what you can do about them.

What Does The Location Of The Headache Mean

Headaches that people often get are tension headaches, migraines, and cluster headaches Cluster headaches don’t happen as often, but men are five times more likely to have them. The pain is usually located behind or around one of the eyes. In some cases, the pain may spread to the forehead, side of the head, nose, neck, or shoulders on the same side. Headache is defined as pain that arises from the head or upper neck of the body.

Pain originates in the tissues and structures that surround the skull or brain because the brain itself does not have nerves that give rise to the sensation of pain . The thin layer of tissue that surrounds the bones, muscles that line the skull, sinuses, eyes, and ears, as well as the thin tissues that cover the surface of the brain and spinal cord , arteries, veins, and nerves, can become inflamed or irritated and cause headache. The pain can be dull, sharp, throbbing, constant, intermittent, mild or severe. While most other headaches have an associated chemical or physical cause, a trigger, such as a particular food, emotional stress or pressure, cluster headaches seem seemingly random and perhaps mostly genetic Cluster headaches are so called because they tend to occur at daily for periods of one week or more, followed by prolonged periods, from months to years, without headaches.

References

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Headaches On One Side Of Your Head

Headaches limited to one side of your head can indicate two different types of headaches.

Migraines

If you experience a headache that limits itself to one side of your head, this usually indicates that its a migraine. Migraines are a primary headache disorder and they usually cause recurrent attacks. If youre suffering from a migraine, the one-sided pain will usually be accompanied by the following symptoms:

• Nausea or vomiting

Migraine triggers will vary from person to person and in some cases, it can be a combination of factors that cause them. Identifying triggers is not always possible.

Cluster Headaches

Headaches on one side of your head can also be a sign of cluster headaches. Cluster headaches are usually located around or behind one eye and may spread to the nose, neck, side of your head, forehead, and shoulders on the same side of your body. In addition, cluster headaches typically come in cycles and usually happen several times over a period of time and then have a remission period before the cycle begins again. Cluster headaches usually have severe pain after just 10 minutes of starting.

If youre suffering from a cluster headache, you may also experience symptoms such as:

• Runny or stuffy nose
• Small constricted pupil

If you think you might suffer from cluster headaches, talk to your doctor about finding a treatment.

What Are Secondary Headaches

Secondary headaches are those that are due to an underlying structural or infectious problem in the head or neck. This is a very broad group of medical conditions ranging from dental pain from infected teeth or pain from an infected sinus, to life-threatening conditions like bleeding in the brain or infections like encephalitis or meningitis.

Traumatic headaches fall into this category including post-concussion headaches.

This group of headaches also includes those headaches associated with substance abuse and excess use of medications used to treat headaches . “Hangover” headaches fall into this category as well. People who drink too much alcohol may waken with a well-established headache due to the effects of alcohol and dehydration.

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