muscle spasm in head
If you are one of those people who suffer from annoying headaches due to spasms in the muscles of your head area and these headaches have caused your quality of life to change, we recommend that you read more. In this article, we are going to talk about muscle spasms in the scalp area.
What you will read next:
Introduction
Today, a group of headaches is known as muscle contraction headache, which doctors classify as a type of tension headache. Doctors say that these headaches are probably accompanied by contractions and spasms that occur in the muscles of the head area. In fact, hardening and tightening of the head muscles causes headaches, which is one of the most common types of headaches that are usually triggered by various environmental factors. In cases where this headache occurs following muscle spasms of the head, if there are no severe conditions and severe and annoying symptoms, balanced methods can be used to alleviate the painful and excruciating symptoms to some extent.
Many people with these painful spasms who experience painful headaches as a result of head muscle spasms have found that using very simple painkillers can greatly reduce the pain and discomfort caused by these spasms.
signs
In this section, we want to discuss with you the symptoms and manifestations that usually occur following the spasm of the muscles of the scalp.
We said that a type of headache called headache caused by muscle contraction is a type of tension headache and is accompanied by bilateral headaches that can be mild to moderate in severity and also, the set of symptoms of this headache can be related to the contraction of the muscles in the head and neck area.
Doctors also say that in this set of demonstrations, there may be the release of painful muscle contractions and head muscles, people may also notice an increase in pressure behind the eyeball, which usually resolves within a few hours to a few days.
This pain is unpleasant and can change a person's quality of life during the time there is pain. Also, many people who have this pain for a few days have difficulty performing their normal daily activities.
reasons
Doctors have not yet been able to find the root cause of headaches caused by muscle spasms, but there is a large list of central and peripheral factors that appear to trigger head contractions, leading to tension headaches. These include the following factors:
- Stress and anxiety
- Dehydration
- Fatigue
- eye straining
- Extreme caffeine users
- Extreme users of alcohol
- smokers
- Getting irregular meals
- poor posture
according to the statistics and results of many researches seems that the factors mentioned above, can cause spasms in the muscles of the head area, and because of this spasm, the person can get a headache in which they feel a tightness in the head and skull. In fact, it is better to say that most people who suffer from tensional headaches have headaches because the muscles in their head area have spasms and stiffness, so the person describes the headache as having a tight band wrapped around his or her head.
Diagnosis
Headaches due to contractions and spasms of the head muscles are generally very common in the general category, and these headaches can often be cured without specialized medical interventions or specific treatments with painkillers available as OTC in pharmacies, But doctors say that in order to get rid of other possible causes of headaches, in a person who complains of recurring and annoying headaches, it is better to diagnose this headache caused by muscle spasm by rejecting other possible causes. In fact, people who suffer from these headaches may have so many headache attacks that these headaches have a significant impact on their quality of life, so for these people, it is necessary to rule out other possible causes and diagnoses and differentiation is necessary.
You should be aware that if a person who does not have a history of severe and annoying headaches, suddenly has a headache that is very severe and has disabled him or her, he or she should go to a medical center immediately to check for potentially life-threatening causes.
In order to reach a correct diagnosis, in addition to ruling out other possible causes that can sometimes be more serious, the physician should obtain a detailed history of the patient, as well as question his or her medication history and eating habits.
Doctors often believe that asking about the latest lifestyle changes of medications as well as changes in eating habits is necessary to reach the probable cause of the headache. In other words, these changes can lead to spasms and cramps and stiff muscles in your scalp and trigger the onset of tension headaches.
treatment
Studies have shown that a very large group of people who suffer from head spasms and subsequent headaches associated with muscle spasms have been completely cured by using the very common analgesics available as OTC in pharmacies, these OTC painkillers include acetaminophen and ibuprofen it should be noted that aspirin should be approved by a physician according to the individual's condition. It is very wrong for a person with a headache to use these painkillers frequently, because overuse of these painkillers can cause a complication called medication overuse headache, these are people who need painkillers for three days or more each week to relieve their headaches.
To avoid these headaches, it is best to avoid factors that can trigger muscle spasms in the scalp.
These triggers for head muscle spasm include stress, anxiety, and mental disorders, as well as fatigue, emotional turmoil, heavy alcohol consumption, frequent caffeinated beverage consumption, and smoking.
To prevent and also to help treat head spasms, the following can be used:
It is recommended that these people start exercising slowly and regularly, also, the use of massage therapy and traditional medicine, as well as relaxation techniques such as yoga and meditation by reducing anxiety and stress can reduce the rate of head muscle spasm or prevent head muscle spasm attacks that lead to tension headaches.
And is recommended People who suffer from spasms of the scalp and subsequently experience headaches caused by these spasms should write down in a small notebook the factors that can affect the severity of the symptoms or trigger muscle spasms and worsen the symptoms. The list ultimately provides a guide for both the individual and the treating physician to make better treatment decisions in the future.
Types of head muscle spasms
There are said to be two types of head muscle spasms that can lead to headaches associated with muscle spasms. These two types are:
- Episodic type
- Chronic type
These spasms of any kind will eventually cause tension headaches, so we have two types of tension headaches: episodic tension headache and chronic tension headache.
The common feature of both of these is actually a feeling of tightness and pressing pain that exists on both sides of the head and can be mild to moderate in severity, and these headaches are generally not able to cause significant interference in individual daily activities in terms of severity. But the frequency of attacks or the severity and number of symptoms may vary from person to person.
Episodic tension headaches can last between thirty minutes to seven days.
People with these headaches usually experience these headaches less than fifteen days a month.
But people with chronic tension headaches have symptoms for more than fifteen days each month, and the condition recurs for at least six months a year.
Conclusion
Tension headaches are the most common type of headache, and the pain is usually accompanied by mild to moderate cramping and a feeling of pressure all over the head. Headaches can only occur on the forehead or back of the head. Doctors say that the cause of these headaches is that the muscles of the head and back of the neck become cramped and contracted.
But what causes head muscle cramps?
Common triggering factors are said to be stress, missed meals, general fatigue as well as eye strain, rapid shock or shaking, as well as poor posture, as well as lack of sleep, which can eventually trigger headaches Or make tension headaches worse, Most of these headaches will respond to OTC painkillers, So these painkillers only target the symptoms of common headaches, that is, only pain without addressing the cause of their onset, which is cramping and contraction of the explicit muscles, but it is better to treat the cause of these headaches, which are head muscle spasms.
So, people who have recently had a tension headache can use a muscle relaxant that has a quick but short-term effect to prevent the progression of these annoying pains by relaxing the muscles of their head and neck. These drugs are more effective in relieving pain than painkillers, they do a major job, and that is to target the cause of these headaches, which are head muscle spasms. So, if you are one of those people who have constant pain in the forehead and back, it is better to consult your doctor for further examination.
What are the necessary measures to prevent head muscle spasm?
To prevent spasms, it is better to pay attention to the following points:
- Make sure you get enough sleep
- Do not skip meals
- Avoid getting too tired
When you feel that your muscle cramps have started, put a warm towel on your neck and shoulders or behind your head or on your head to relieve the spasm.
Do not expose your head and neck muscles to prolonged and heavy pressure, for example if you sit at a desk and work with a computer, consider rest periods during which you get up from behind the desk and change your position and when you are we are studying do not put your chin on your chest, you do not need to hold the phone between your ears and shoulders for a long time in order to be able to talk on the phone, it is better to use a handsfree.
It is said that there are a number of people who have the starting points of headache in the back of the head and neck area, and touching these sensitive points can start tension headaches, injecting local anesthetics into these starting ace points is part of their treatment plan today.
These injections relieve pain and also prevent possible headaches, this effect usually lasts for a few days and Injections generally need to be renewed at least once every several weeks. Of course, doctors can usually control your condition with simpler treatments, but in cases where painkillers and cannot relieve your pain, these injections will help.
Doctors also prescribe long-acting antidepressants and muscle relaxants to reduce head muscle spasms and prevent tension headaches.
Concluding remarks
In people who suffer from recurrent head and neck muscle spasms, it is better to say that prevention of many of the various treatments mentioned above will be more effective. For prevention it is better to keep your neck and shoulder muscles relaxed and do not put them under intense, prolonged pressure. These small preventative measures can greatly reduce the need for you to take painkillers and make you live a good life without experiencing headaches caused by muscle spasms.