What Causes Headaches?

The best way to work out what causes headaches is to realise that 99% of all headaches are one of the following 6 types.

If you know the features of these 6 headaches and you have symptoms that match, you have made a headache diagnosis - with a very high level of certainty.

1. Episodic Tension Type Headache (up to 75% of people each year will experience these headaches)
2. Migraine (6% of men and 16% of women get migraine)
3. Cervicogenic Headache (4% of people each year)
4. Ice Pick Headache (at least 2% of people get these, and some people have suggested as high as 35%)
5. Chronic Tension Type Headache (2% of people)
6. Chronic Severe Migraine (about 0.2% of people)

If your diagnosis is correct, then your treatment is more likely to work.

Wrong diagnosis is a common cause of failed headache treatment.



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