Headache Research Paper

I. Introduction:
Almost everyone has had a headache. Headache is most common disorder of nerves system. It has estimated that 47% of adult populations have a headache.
II. Definition:
 Headache “cephalgia “ is pain or ache occur in any region of the head, and the most common of all human physical complaints.
 Headache is actually a symptom rather than a disease, and has primary and secondary cause. III. Classification:
1. Primary headache disorder: is one for which no organic cause can be identified, such as :( Migraine, tension , cluster )

- Types of primary headache disorder:
A. Migraine headache:
Is characterized by periodic and recurrent attack of severe headache, progress slowly with pain in one side of head, tend to occur hours to

tension headache:
Is the most common type of headache, characterized by steady and constant feeling of pressure with variable duration aggravating pain usually bilaterally begin in the forehead and spread to back of the neck, caused by emotional or physical stress and most common during adolescence, it manifested by: sustained contraction of head and neck muscle.
C. Cluster headache:
Is characterized by intense pain unilaterally in the eye and may radiating to facial and temporal region, , progress quickly for few days or weeks, caused by vascular disturbance and begin in early adulthood and most common in young men, it manifested by: flushing, tearing of eyes, nasal stiffness, sweating.
2. secondary headache disorder : is a symptom associated with organic cause such as:( brain tumor, subarachnoid hemorrhage, stroke, sever hypertension )

IV. Anatomy and physiology:
A headache is not actually a pain in the brain, it is a message from the brain when other parts of the body hurt, but it can't feel pain itself.
Most headaches happen in the nerves, blood vessels, and muscles that cover a person's head and neck. Sometimes the muscles or blood vessels swell, tighten, or go through other changes that stimulate the surrounding nerves or put pressure on them. These nerves send a rush of pain messages to the brain, and this brings on a

Risk Factors for Tension Headache:
• Specific lifestyle factors emotional stress, fatigue, or anger , smoking and having too little physical activity and too little sleep.
• Medical Conditions include depression, anxiety, teeth clenching or grinding ,gum chewing in children ,sleep apnea, arthritis in the neck and being overweight

B. Risk Factors for Migraine Headache:

• Specific lifestyle factors include skipping meals ,too much or too little sleep, emotional events ,smoking ,depression or anxiety ,excessive alcohol use and hangovers ,loud or sudden noises
• Certain foods can also trigger a migraine like aspartame ,caffeine or caffeine withdrawal ,alcohol ,chocolate ,aged cheeses ,monosodium glutamate (MSG) ,cured or processed meats
• Certain medications like birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy; there may be some relationship between female hormones and migraines Headache remedies used on a daily or near daily basis
• Age ,the highest incidence is in teenage years
• Gender, migraine headaches are more common among females.
• Genetic factors
C. Risk Factors for Cluster Headache:
• Cluster headaches seem to occur more often in smokers .
• Medical Conditions like having head surgery or a head injury increases your risk of cluster