There are quite a few misconceptions on what makes pain a migraine versus a headache. Neither are what a sane person would choose to go through, that much is clear. Maybe it will surprise you that there are many different forms of headaches, each with a different root cause. Because of this variation, there are also quite a few things you can do to improve each situation. No one way will be effective for all of the types, but there are some guidelines that you can use to live a limited headache life. Click through to find out more!

 

What is a Headache?

The basic answer is: any sort of pressure and discomfort that you feel within your head. If you want to stay as broad as possible you can break down a headache into two categories: one where the headache is the primary condition itself. The second category being a headache which is the result of some other underlying issue. These underlying issues or other associated disorders would be things like lack of sleep, low blood sugars, high blood pressure, or direct head trauma. All of which mean that the headache is a secondary condition or result.

 

The International Headache Society (IHS) further classifies beyond the above and breaks down primary headaches into three initial categories:

1) Migraine

— two subtypes: ‘without aura’ and ‘with aura’

— four subtypes: ‘infrequent episodic’, ‘frequent episodic’, ‘chronic’, and ‘probable’

3) Trigeminal Autonomic Cephalalgias (TACs)

— five subtypes: ‘cluster’, ‘paroxysmal hemicrania’, ‘short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks’, ‘hemicrania continua’, and ‘probable TAC’

For a more comprehensive breakdown of the primary types of headaches, check out this post.

 

Each category and subtype also has their own set of diagnostic criteria. Knowing these separate criteria makes it much easier to distinguish between each category and (especially) sub-type. If you are interested, I highly recommend referring to the IHS’ current guidelines and classification criteria found here.

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The IHS also provides further breakdowns to secondary headaches including things such as:

— trauma or injury to head / neck

— vascular disorder of the head / neck

— non-vascular intracranial disorder

— a substance or its withdrawal

— infection

— disorder of homeostasis (i.e. like blood pressure or blood sugar related issue)

— attributed to a psychiatric disorder

 

 

If you are confused right now.. do not fret, even researchers and experts in this field still do not have a concrete understanding. The crux of the “headache or migraine” question is that a migraine is in fact a headache, but a headache is not a migraine. Here is a conveniently (but also very simple / basic) flow chart to help you decide if what you are experiencing is a headache or a more specific migraine:

Headache Prevention:

The prevention of each type of headache, category therein, and subtype of, will vary drastically because of each root cause. A couple of simple examples could be:

— if a specific food is causing your headache (like an allergic reaction) then avoid that food.

— if your blood sugars are low and this is causing a headache, then eat a (well balanced) meal and you will almost immediately feel better.

— if you have been staring at a screen (computer, tablet, or smart phone) all day and are noticing vision issues accompanying your headache, then you likely have overstimulated those specific visual receptors. This can also be applied to generally bright light (or reflected sunshine off of the snow while driving). Giving your eyes and body a rest from this stimulus for at least 15 minutes will give you great relief.

— sleeping too long or too little will affect various hormones and your blood pressure which will affect your bodies homeostatic state. A consistent sleep schedule will allow your body to balance out and normalize this (among infinitely other dramatically positive effects).

This list (which again is nowhere near comprehensive) can be summed up pretty easily as: be proactive, and not just reactive.

 

Other things known and proven to help with headaches are:

— essential oils (peppermint has been shown to be extremely effective at this)

— hydrotherapy applications (usually cold, but in some cases heat can also be effective for restoring circulation to an area)

— stretching

— relaxation exercises or meditation

— over-the-counter drugs (i.e. acetaminophen or ibuprofen)

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It is important to recognize that if you have never experienced a certain type of headache before but then out of the blue you are getting that all of the time (especially for the elderly); you should do an analysis of any recent changes to your lifestyle, habbits, and diet. If you cannot identify a problem, or would simply like help in doing so, then you should consult with your family doctor or physician.

Studies going back to the mid-90’s have shown that less than 0.0004% of headaches are life-threatening. But just because that number is next to nothing does not mean that you should ignore signs that your body is giving you.

 

Massage Therapy as a Treatment

Because of what website you are on, I have no doubt that you saw this point coming: there are countless studies that show massage to be beneficial with the treatment of (almost) every individual type of headache listed earlier in this post. I would be remiss to point out however that the research is the most conclusive with regards to Tension-type Headaches. Here is one such study, showing that a 30 minute massage treatment is effective at the release of myofascial triggerpoints and their resulting referred headaches.

Whether the headache is coming from postural malalignment, muscle contracture, direct trauma, or connective tissue deformities it is not hard to see from a purely tissue relaxation, flushing, and overall stress reduction standpoint how massage would be effective. The fact that massage therapy can help with postural issues, edema / swelling, inflammation, trigger points, fascial adhesions, etc. is what makes this form of treatment so versatile and dynamically impacting.

For best results, you should combine many forms of care for headache prevention. Our preference is for the natural ones (massage, stretching, relaxation exercises, mint essential oil, etc.). This synergistically helps to combat these debilitating conditions as they are forming or even before they arise (again: be proactive, and not just reactive).

 

 

I do not claim ownership over the main image of a girl holding her temples, which was found via Google image search. Coincidentally, the article from which I pulled the image actually has some useful information on headache and migraine research. If you want more information check it out here: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/08/22/migraine-causes.aspx