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"Headache" is a comon word describing any painful complaint centered on the cranial region. There are different kinds of headaches. In fact, according to these main signs, we distinguish different headaches that we are going to state.
Tension headache
Not very intense, it occurs at the end of the day. It is often linked to stress, fatigue, and psychological tension. It is the most frequent cause of prolonged headaches. Its main symptoms have the following characteristics
continuous, moderate and diffuse pain: it is felt as a tightening at the level of the skull, a feeling of vice;
it worsens in periods of stress and improves in periods of relaxation;
difficulties of focusing;
it is associated with anxiety and a contracture of the neck muscles.
Migraine
It affects between 10 to 15% of the population and is 3 times more present in women than in men. In reality, migraine is a specific type of headache.
The causes are therefore equally varied. Because of its painful symptoms, migraine remains a very incapacitating pathology in daily life:
Unilateral pain (on one side only)
Pulsating pain (as if you could hear your heart beating inside your head)
Sudden episode by crisis (from 4 to 72h without treatment)
Irritability and/or hypersensitivity to noise and light
Pain increased by movements such as physical effort
Often accompanied by nausea or vomiting
Occipital neuralgia
It is an attack of a peripheral nerve (posterior branch of the second cervical root) located at the base of the skull. The pain is quite strong, it can occur following a trauma or spontaneously. It often radiates from the cervico-occipital hinge to the forehead. It can be triggered by contact (finger pressure) and hypersensitivity of the scalp can occur.
Temporal arteritis
It corresponds to an inflammation of the temporal vessels. It occurs most often in women after the age of 50. The pain lasts for several weeks and can disappear for many months, even years, before reappearing. There is a painful and hard palpation of the temples, pain in the jaw and forehead and sometimes even monocular blindness.
Vascular algia
Very intense, it occurs in series or in bursts. It affects much more often men and causes an intense pain strictly lateralized, throbbing behind an eye. Other associated manifestations: redness or watering of the eye and blocked nose.
Other headaches
Much more rarely, headaches can be caused by sinusitis, poorly controlled hypertension, stroke, meningeal hemorrhage, meningitis, acute glaucoma, etc. So don't hesitate to consult your doctor if the headache is accompanied by fever, dizziness, numbness, paralysis or other signs.
How osteopathy can help
Because of the great diversity of causes of headaches and migraines, drug treatments are not always effective in the long term to relieve the symptoms. Osteopathy can reduce the intensity and frequency of headaches through gentle, adapted and targeted manual techniques.
Osteopathy will act on different systems (cranial, osteoarticular, visceral, membranous, muscular) in order to release tensions and restore mobility to structures.
This treatment will regulate the global balance of the cervical and cranial structures in order to lift potiential nervous and/or vascular compressions, ensuring a good blood flow and restoring physiological parameters.
Even if most of headaches are benign, it is essential to seek the advice of a health professional when faced with these symptoms in order to eliminate a potential underlying pathology that could be the cause of your headaches.