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Headaches

The Prevalence of Headaches: Types and Causes

Neck pain is a very common complaint. We see dozens of people every week at our clinic in Chandlers Ford, suffering from various degrees of neck pain. Rarely is it very serious and there are very effective treatments that we can use to help resolve the problem quickly.

Whilst physiotherapy treatment can help neck pain very effectively, it is very important that you learn to help control and manage the problem yourself too or better still, take steps to help prevent it occurring in the first place.

Most of us have experienced a headache previously ā€“ the World Health Organisation has reported that:

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75% of adults aged 18-65 have experienced a headache in the last yearĀ 

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47% of adults have experienced an episode of headache disorder ā€“ recurrent or prolonged headaches ā€“ in the last yearĀ 

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Around 30% of adults reported suffering from a migraine in the last yearĀ 

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Around 4% of adults report having a headache for over 15 days each month, known as Chronic Daily HeadachesĀ 

These figures show us that headache disorder is a worldwide issue and they are ranked as the 3rd highest cause of ā€˜years lost due to disabilityā€™. Migraine on its own is the 6th highest cause. Headaches tends to affect women more than men ā€“ for example, for every one male reporting Chronic Daily Headaches, three women will be affected.

Headaches can be triggered by a number of factors:

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Mechanical issues ā€“ poor posture, neck position, working habits

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Hormones ā€“ likely why more women report headaches than men

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Stress levels

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Medication induced ā€“ known as ā€˜medication overuseā€™

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Teeth grinding

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External factors ā€“ smell, bright lights, pressure and humidity

Headaches can also be classified into either primary or secondary

Primary headaches

Primary headaches are benign, often recurrent but are not caused by an underlying disease or structural problem. Tension type headaches are the most common type of primary headaches.

Secondary headaches

Secondary headaches are a result of an underlying disease or structural issue, such as infection, head injury, vascular problems or spinal issue. Cervicogenic (neck based) headaches are the most common type of secondary headaches.

Both tension type and cervicogenic headaches are types of mechanical headaches and can be helped greatly with Physiotherapy intervention.

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If you suffer with headaches and would like help in tackling them, give us a call on 023 8025 3317 and
find out if we can help.

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