It’s a fact that, chronic tension headaches can be a potentially debilitating condition that seriously deprives the patient of life enjoyment. Daily activities are subject to interruption by painful episodes that can occur any time.

Chronic tension headaches can easily lead to depression and a general pain crisis. It is important that chronic tension headaches receive prompt attention and medical care. Fortunately, the medical community is very experienced with the problem of chronic tension headache, and has several avenues of treatment available for sufferers. In fact, headaches are actually divided into three individual categories.

The majority of headaches suffered can fit into the primary category. A primary headache is frequently brought on by emotional or physical stress, and is the most common form of headache by far. Primary headaches are almost never life threatening, but they can bring serious pain with them. This pain can hamper everyday enjoyment of life, making even basic functioning difficult. Although the actual causes of chronic tension headache are still unknown, it is widely held that the symptoms can be traced to a tightening of muscles around the skull. This tightening comes on as a sensation of tightness at first in the patient’s cranial area.

Cluster and secondary headaches occur on a far less frequent basis, but are much more serious. To treat this kind of headache, serious medical attention is required. Cluster headaches are easily identifiable by the amount of pain they cause. Patients frequently describe cluster headaches as an icepick sensation behind one or both eyes. Treatment includes powerful sedatives and pain medications. Secondary headaches usually indicate some other issue that is at work.

A chronic tension headache should be treated with an eye toward stress management. Physical and emotional stress are both known to trigger chronic tension headache. Circumstances that trigger significant emotional stress can prompt the occurence of chronic tension headaches. Prolonged physical stress is another potential cause of chronic tension headaches. Steps to manage both kinds of stress are necessary to bring the problem under control. If these steps do not succeed, then further treatment via pain medications may be necessary. Chronic tension headaches that do not abate should be a signal to see a doctor.