What Is a Tension Headache?

28. Oktober 2025

2 Min. Lesezeit

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There are more than 150 forms of headaches. Until recently, migraine was considered the most common. However, tension headaches are now the most common as they affect 70–90 % of people around the world.

Wichtigste Erkenntnisse

There are more than 150 forms of headaches.
What hurts in the head?
Signs of tension headache

Für wen das ist

Für alle, die Nervensystem über Kopfschmerzen, Migräne erkunden.

Warum es wichtig ist

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Artikelautor

Dr. Elijah

neurologe

What hurts in the head?

There are no pain receptors in the brain, so it does not hurt, but the membranes of the brain, vessels, muscles of the head and neck have many of these receptors. Reacting to irritation, they transmit an alarm signal to the pain centers of the spinal cord and brain. This "orders" a protective reaction aimed at eliminating the irritant, which is when we feel pain.

Headaches are divided into primary and secondary. Primary headaches, which include only migraine and tension headaches, have no causes. This "strange" pain affects 90–95 % of patients. According to various theories, the causes may be neurovascular, hormonal, biochemical, or myofascial changes. Secondary headaches are caused by specific diseases such as infections, head injuries, vascular lesions, and tumors.

Signs of tension headache

According to localization, pain begins in the occipital or frontal area and spreads to the whole head as if it is squeezed in a vise.
The intensity is mild-moderate (between 3–5 out of 10).
It can be provoked by stress, sleep disturbance, temporomandibular joint dysfunction, prolonged eye strain, and muscle tension (postural tension).

Tension headache is considered episodic if the number of attacks does not exceed 15 days per month. Pain is considered chronic if it lasts more than half a month, affecting the everyday life of the person.

Is stress to blame?

Scientists have been searching for the causes of tension headaches for years. So far, they have been able to determine that it is caused by the painful tension of the head and neck muscles, which leads to the disturbance of blood flow. The second obvious cause is stress, as well as severe fatigue, long and strenuous work at the computer, and exams. Cold wind, heat, hunger and thirst, a sudden change of climate, abuse of analgesics can also bring on tension headaches.

This pain typically does not interfere with life, and often, if a person is distracted from it by something, the pain disappears, but then appears again.

Help for headaches

Headaches are treated primarily by neurologists. Before visiting a doctor, it is advisable to fill out a headache diary, the form of which can be found on the internet. It is also important to exclude the presence of diseases that can cause the problem. This could include clinical and biochemical blood tests, an ultrasound of the brachiocephalic vessels, which allows you to assess the blood flow in the vertebral and carotid arteries, and a CT or MRI scan of the brain and skull.

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