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There are many kinds of headaches. They can be dull, sharp, throbbing and debilitating. They can affect different areas of the head such as the crown, sides, base of skull, forehead, around the eyes and behind the eyes. They can last a couple of minutes or even days. Some people will need to lie down and cover their eyes to keep light. Even the smallest type of headache will cause disruptions in your daily life, such as making it difficult to concentrate or focus.

Headaches are caused by many factors. The main factor is the lack of blood flow to the head. Pain itself is typical because of a lack of blood flow in an area. Pain signals the body of a lack of blood flow and the body responds by increasing the flow.

During a woman’s menstrual cycle she may get headaches. This is due to blood loss. Less blood means there will be less blood to go up to the head. Of course, not all women will get headaches during their cycle. This is because their body is more in balance and the body is producing and circulating blood more readily for the body.

The scalene muscles, located at the side of the neck, can pinch the blood vessels and slow the flow of blood to the head.  This type of head ache will normally manifest in the back of the head around the base of the skull.

Headaches located on the top and sides of the head are normally due to stress and high blood pressure. Stress causes the pressure in the blood vessels to increase and in turn causes headaches. High blood pressure is caused by maintained high-stress levels, improper diet and the arteries may be clogged.

Headaches in the forehead area are normally caused by digestion issues or even food that does not agree with you.

Migraine headaches will occur normally around or behind the eyes and there can be some sensitivity to light. Normally there is quite a bit of imbalance in the body with migraines and it if they occur on a regular basis, I suggest getting professional help.

If you are suffering from headaches around the base of the skull and neck then getting an acupuncture or massage treatments will help.  You can also do stretches for the neck. One that will help is to roll up a towel into a log and place it behind the neck as you are lying down. This will tip the head back and your chin should be pointing up. After holding this position up to 90 seconds you will leave the towel where it is and turn the head to the left or right side and hold up to 90 seconds and then repeat to the opposite side. You should feel the muscles in the front of the neck stretching and the muscles in the back of the neck contracting. You may feel a bit of discomfort in the back of the neck at first, but this will go away. You can easily adjust the towel’s thickness to help get your neck into the proper position. The use of the towel is there to give the spine the proper support.

Headaches are often caused by lack of blood flow; in Chinese medicine we simply call this blood deficiency. If you have some blood deficiency, changing your diet will alleviate symptoms. You can also see an acupuncturist for treatments as well as to be prescribed herbs that can help to build blood. They can also help build a very specific diet plan for you. Nutrition aspects that you need to have in your diet are iron, folic acid and vitamin B12. To get proper absorption of iron you will also need adequate copper, B vitamins as well as vitamin C. Foods that will help are spirulina, seaweeds, sprouts, leafy greens, and chlorophyll-rich foods. These should be taken raw or lightly steamed. Other foods are grains, legumes, and most vegetable. Severe blood deficiency will need to eat animal products such as beef, lamb or chicken (livers of these are the best source). Royal jelly, gelatin, carp soup, mussels and oysters are also foods that will help with blood deficiencies.

If you are having headaches around your forehead area you should pay special attention to the food that you are eating. Keep a list of the foods that cause headaches and avoid them. If this does not eliminate the headaches, an acupuncturist can assist you in regulating your digestion.

Headaches that form around the sides and top of the head are normally going to be stress related. Learning how to manage and control your stress is going to be a key factor in eliminating this kind of headache. You can look at my other blog about stress to get ideas for this (Stress). You should also have blood pressure checked to make sure there are no complications. If blood pressure is high, then you should go and get professional help to reduce the high blood pressure.

Overall balancing our bodies is something that we all need to learn to reduce health issues from disrupting our lives. If you have any questions please feel free to post it or call and I will help guide you to a solution.