Head pain in adults can affect their daily life much differently than in children with head pain. It is important to know how these four types of head pain can affect a person’s life so they can have the support they need and show how important it is for them to find treatment for relief.
Tension-Type Head Pain in Adults
Tension headaches are the most common type of head pain experienced by adults. These tension headaches can range from mild to moderate pain and will come and go. Tension headaches can cause additional stress to the adult which can, in turn, cause more tension headaches for them.
For those who experience tension headaches constantly, it can really wear you down. For people who live with intense chronic headaches that occur for 15 or more days a month for at least three months, they can cause a substantial amount of long-term poor health. Tension-type head pain in adults can cause insomnia either by making it uncomfortable for them to sleep or cause them to wake abruptly.
Episodic tension headaches can last from 30 minutes up to a week at a time and occur less than 15 days a month for at least three months; however, it is possible to have episodic tension headaches. If the person has episodic tension headaches frequently, they could also develop migraines alongside them that can add more strain to their day.
Adults who experience tension-type head pain may see their job productivity decrease during an attack as adults who go to work with a tension-type headache often notice their ability to function is impaired. If the pain is frequent, it may take away the person’s ability to attend activities or feel the need to stay home from work.
Migraine Head Pain in Adults
Migraine head pain in adults can completely change their life. In fact, 91% of migraine sufferers miss work or are unable to function normally during a migraine attack with 51% of migraine sufferers reporting migraines cut their work and school productivity in half.
According to Health Union, LLC, they have brought to light a study that estimates the loss of productivity in the United States is to be between $5.6 billion to $17.2 billion per year because of migraine sufferers missing work.
What makes migraines in adults so debilitating? Sufferers have reported not being able to see anything during an attack as the aura was so intense. The aura, which blocks out your vision, can make the migraine sufferer dizzy and nauseas. They can also develop allodynia, a hypersensitivity to feel and touch where normal senses become painful.
The pain associated with a migraine attack is extremely difficult to get rid of and can affect other parts of the body. Pain can occur around the sufferer’s eyes, sinus areas, teeth, and the jaw. The attack itself can leave someone in a state of anxiety, depression or panic and adults who experience migraine attacks have a hard time attending to their children as movements or physical activity worsens their symptoms. And since migraine attacks can be unpredictable, it could become dangerous while they are driving.
Studies have also showed when a spouse, partner or parent suffers from migraines, the whole family suffers as it has a huge impact on their family relationships, activities, and intimacy.
Cluster Head Pain in Adults
Cluster headaches are also known to be another highly disabling headache condition in adults. Cluster head pain in adults can result in the sufferer having worse working memory, a poorer quality of life, and a disturbance in their mood. Many cluster headache sufferers develop depression and anxiety, which can trigger even more headaches or worsen their current cluster headache attack.
Also known as the “suicide headache”, cluster headaches may last for months at a time, with some report having episodic cluster headaches up to one year that was separated by a 30 day or more remission; because cluster headaches can last for so long and happen multiple times a day, they can easily interfere with an adult’s lifestyle or work. If an attack can last up to a few hours, having 8 attacks in one day can without a doubt take away their entire day to be productive.
Adults who have cluster head pain can affect their family and loved ones around them as it greatly influences their emotions and mental health. Cluster headaches can also take away their ability to rest, as the symptoms worsen the more you lie still, and cause severe pain.
Sinus Head Pain in Adults
Acute sinus head pain in adults, or acute sinusitis, will usually last for less than 8 weeks or occurs up to three times per year with each sinus head pain attack lasting up to 10 days. Chronic sinus head pain in adults, known as chronic or recurring sinusitis, will last longer than 8 weeks or they can occur more than four times a year and last more than 20 days each time.
Those who experience sinus headaches feel an increasing sense of pressure over the sinus that is blocked (which can be the cheek area, forehead area, or both). The area of the face that is affected can become tender to the touch and turn red along with swelling. When changing the position of the head, the pain from the sinus headache can increase.
Relief for Head Pain in Adults
No matter your age, there is a natural safe way to help you get the relief you need. Head pain in adults can become a serious matter and greatly impact their lives in negative ways. Head pain happens for a reason and is often a signal our body uses to let us know something is wrong. Medication and surgery work by blocking these signals instead of fixing what is setting the signals off – which is the underlying cause of your head pain.
Upper cervical chiropractic treatment for head pain works by finding the cause of your head pain and correcting it, thus giving you relief from your symptoms. To learn more about the link between the upper cervical area of your body and head pain and how upper cervical chiropractic treatment is more successful than medication or surgery, see chiropractic treatment for head pain.