Tension headaches are the most common type of headache. They can cause mild to moderate pain in your head, face, or neck, and are often described as feeling like there’s a tight band around your head. Unlike more severe types of headaches, tension headaches don’t typically cause other symptoms, like vomiting, and generally aren’t regarded as dangerous by medical professionals.
At Elite Chiropractic, we provide natural, non-invasive treatments for headaches. We understand how tension headaches can impact your quality of life and affect your ability to think clearly, process your emotions and any information, and simply enjoy activities. Chiropractic care can provide relief from tension headaches and help you manage them, too.
Types Of Tension Headaches
There are two types of tension headaches. These are based on the frequency of which you experience them.
- Episodic. Episodic tension headaches don’t happen frequently. You have episodic tension headaches if you get them less than 15 days out of the month. They’re called infrequent if you get one headache or less in a month.
- Chronic. Chronic tension headaches are when you have headaches more days than you don’t. They happen more than half of the days in a month for more than three months in a row.
Causes
There’s no singular cause for tension headaches. They can be triggered by many different things. Unlike migraines, tension headaches aren’t hereditary.
Tension headaches can be triggered by a number of things, including:
- Muscle contractions in your head and neck
- Driving for long periods of time
- Staring at a computer screen for long periods of time
- Cold temperatures
- Stress
- Eye strain
- Fatigue
- Smoking
- Caffeine
- Dry eyes
- Alcohol
- Skipping meals
- Dehydration
- Poor posture
- Colds and flus
- Sinus infections
- Sleeping too much
- Sleeping too little
Symptoms
Tension headaches manifest differently in different people. For some, they are a mild annoyance while others feel like their head is being squeezed. Generally, tension headaches are mild or moderate, but when they cause throbbing pain, they can be mistaken for migraines.
Common symptoms of migraines include:
- Pressure around your forehead
- Tenderness around your forehead and the scalp
- Dull, aching head pain
Are Tension Headaches Dangerous?
While tension headaches can affect your day-to-day life, they’re generally not considered dangerous and won’t cause any serious health problems. In some cases, tension headaches can be because of an underlying health issue. If this is so, treatment for the health issue can resolve your headaches.
Chiropractic Treatment For Tension Headaches
Over-the-counter painkillers can help with tension headaches, but if they don’t help or if you want a natural alternative, Elite Chiropractic offers chiropractic care for headaches. In many cases, spinal manipulations can provide almost instantaneous relief for headaches. Chiropractic care offers a lasting solution to your tension headaches that doesn’t stop like when a painkiller wears off.
When you come to our office for treatment for your tension headaches, we’ll conduct a consultation in order to determine factors affecting your tension headaches and what method of treatment would be most beneficial to you. Everyone is different, so we’re always careful to bear in mind the factors affecting your individual case in order to find the best treatment method for you.
Chiropractic care provides relief and management for tension headaches without the side-effects painkillers can have and that can last longer, too.
Some of the treatment methods we use for tension headaches include:
- Spinal adjustments
- Spinal Decompression Therapy
- Spinal Traction Therapy
- Vibration Plate Therapy
- Class IV Laser Therapy
- Education about lifestyle changes
- At-home exercises you can use for management
Elite Chiropractic wants to help you reduce the pain and frequency of your tension headaches. Contact us today in Wenatchee, WA to schedule a consultation!
