Tension Headaches

Your name: Your e-mail address: Your friend's e-mail addresses:

(separate multiple addresses with comma)
Indicates required field
Message (limit 100 characters)
Enter answer below:

(Why the math? It protects against spam)
=
Send
Cancel
Your message has been successfully sent!

The annual prevalence of tension headaches is 74%, much higher than for any other type of headache.

• Approximately 20% to 30% of the population experience more than one tension headache per month.
• Tension headaches are 40% more frequent in women compared to men.

These criteria, established by the International Headache Society (IHS), are used to evaluate whether a person is suffering from a tension-type headache:

• The headaches must have at least two of the following pain characteristics:
  • pressing (nonpulsating) quality
  • mild or moderate intensity (may inhibit, but does not prohibit, activities)
  • located on both sides of the head (bilateral)
  • no aggravation of pain caused by routine physical activity
• The individual must not be experiencing nausea or vomiting. He or she may experience unusual sensitivity to light or sound, but not both.
• The headache is a primary headache, and no evidence of secondary headache is suspected.

Tension headaches are divided into four categories:

• Frequent episodic tension-type headaches, infrequent episodic tension-type headaches, chronic tension-type headaches, and probable tension-type headaches differ in frequency and duration.
• Probable tension-type headaches are separated into three subcategories, two of which fulfill all but one of the above criteria.