A headache is sometimes the first signal that something else is going on in the body, especially in the nervous system where your brain, spinal cord, and nerves are closely connected. It is the symptom of pain anywhere in the region of the head or neck. A small but substantial minority of patients experience chronic daily or near daily headaches, which significantly impacts the quality of their lives and the lives of their families. Here we will examine some disorders of the nervous system that can be associated with a secondary headache - a headache caused by an underlying medical condition, meaning it does not exist on its own. Most people get headaches from time to time. But when they are frequent and severe enough to interfere with daily …show more content…
The most common cause of headaches is prolonged tension or stress. These are called tension headaches or muscle-contraction headaches. Virtually everyone suffers from this at some time. Muscles in your scalp, neck, and face tighten and contract, causing spasms and pain. Psychological factors such as anxiety, fatigue (e.g., eyestrain), and stress (e.g., long periods of concentration) as well as mechanical factors such as neck strain (e.g., working on a computer for prolonged periods) are often the culprits behind a typical tension headache. Migraines are generally more severe and can be debilitating. The cause of migraine is not known but many trigger factors are recognized. These include hormonal changes (during a woman's menstrual cycle), certain foods (e.g., chocolate, aged cheeses), beverages (e.g., red wine), strong odours, lack of sleep, and even stress. It is not uncommon to experience mixed tension-migraine headaches. Sinus headaches are less common than people think. Many people with sinus headaches actually have migraine headaches. They can occur after a bout of upper respiratory infection, such as a cold. Along with the headache, people often have a runny or stuffy nose. Sinus headaches are caused when bacteria invade and infect the nasal