Tension-Type Headache

What is Tension-Type Headache?

Tension-type headache is the most common form of headache. It usually feels like a tight band of pressure around the head, on both sides, rather than the throbbing, one-sided pain of a migraine. The intensity is generally mild to moderate, and it is not usually made worse by routine activity.

Tight, tender spots in the muscles of the head, neck, and shoulders (called myofascial trigger points) play a large role. Stress, poor sleep, and sustained postures such as long hours at a screen all feed into the muscle tension that drives the pain.

It is classed by how often it occurs: occasional, frequent, or chronic when it happens on 15 or more days a month. When headaches become chronic, the pain pathways themselves become more sensitive, and treating each attack one at a time is no longer enough.

Symptoms

• A dull, pressing, or tightening pain, like a band around the head
• Pain on both sides of the head
• Mild to moderate intensity
• Tenderness in the scalp, neck, and shoulder muscles
• No nausea or vomiting
• Little or no sensitivity to light and sound

How We Treat It

For frequent or chronic tension-type headache where tender muscle knots are driving the pain, we use trigger point injections into the affected neck and shoulder muscles. Releasing these points reduces both the muscle pain and the headache frequency, and it often makes the area more responsive to physiotherapy.

Where pain refers from the back of the head and upper neck, nerve blocks such as a greater occipital nerve block can interrupt the pain signal and break a stubborn cycle. We combine these procedures with guidance on posture, sleep, and stress, and with neck strengthening, because lasting relief usually comes from addressing the muscle tension at its source rather than relying on painkillers that can themselves cause rebound headache.