Reasons Why You Keep Getting Headaches

Before you pop an aspirin for the hundred and first time, stop to ask, “What’s my headache trying to tell me?” Our expert neurologists at Advanced Medical Care in Queens and Brooklyn, New York, specialize in answering this elusive question about chronic headaches. Here, we explain the most likely culprits and uncover strategies for turning the tide in your war against pain. 

Chronic headaches 101: More than just a nuisance

Occasional headaches are annoying, but chronic headaches are debilitating. They range from the common tension headache to the potentially crippling migraine attack, and they don’t only affect you — their effects ripple outward and impact your coworkers, family, and friends. 

If your chronic headaches control your life, we can help you determine the root cause and develop a treatment plan to relieve pain and salvage your relationships. 

First, it’s important to understand that headaches come in various forms — in fact, medical researchers have identified more than 150 types, each with unique characteristics. We won’t name them all here, but some of the most common chronic culprits are:

Migraine disease

Often accompanied by nausea, sensitivity to light and sound, and auras, migraine attacks can be severe and last for days.

Tension headaches

Tension headaches are usually due to stress or poor posture and can feel like a tight band squeezing your skull.

Occipital neuralgia

Occipital neuralgia presents a sharp, stabbing pain in the back of your head due to pinched nerves.

Trigeminal neuralgia

Trigeminal neuralgia is a chronic pain condition that affects your fifth cranial nerve, causing severe, sharp facial pain.

Benign intracranial hypertension

Benign intracranial hypertension applies excess pressure around your brain, causing headaches and vision problems.

By understanding the type of headaches you’re experiencing, you (and we) can better tackle their root causes, which often extend beyond simple explanations like pulling an all-nighter or having a bad food day.

The usual suspects: Why do you keep getting headaches?

Stress, diet, and lifestyle are pretty common potential triggers of chronic headaches, so we include them here, but we also dig deeper into the more severe underlying conditions that might be silently screaming behind constant pain.

Stress and tension

Stress is like the conductor of a headache orchestra, drawing the taut strings of tension until you’re left with a throbbing symphony in your skull. Chronic stress leads to muscular tension, eye strain, and poor sleeping habits, all of which conspire to summon the headache demons.

The diet-headache connection

Your dietary choices might seem innocuous, but dehydration and diet can provoke headaches. If your hydration levels dip, you set yourself up for a dehydration headache.

Meanwhile, certain foods and additives, from the notorious tyramine in aged cheeses to monosodium glutamate (MSG), can trigger migraine attacks. Keeping a food diary can be invaluable in identifying these dietary culprits.

Posture and screen time

Electronic devices are a staple of our digital lives, but that constant craning over a screen can lead to posture-related tension and what some call “text neck,” or “tech neck.” Think of screen time as a headache waiting to pounce. Ergonomics and frequent screen breaks aren’t just office luxuries; they’re your best defenses against a cranial coup.

Environmental factors

Sometimes, the cause of your seemingly random headaches is all around you. Strong smells or sudden changes in the environment can set off a headache. It isn’t just your imagination when you insist that the office is always too hot or too cold — extremes of temperature can trigger headaches.

Diagnosing your chronic headaches

If your headaches don’t fit into these neat, accessible categories, our experts dig deeper. Understanding the enemy is crucial, and it starts with a proper diagnosis.

The first step in the battle to reclaim your life is walking through our doors at Advanced Medical Care. We have the skill, tools, and experience to determine your headaches’ underlying cause and stop them at their source.

Nerve conduction studies and radiographic imaging

If your common headache has a not-so-common cause, we use nerve conduction studies and radiographic imaging to gather more information. These tests identify or rule out nerve damage, a tumor, or another serious condition.

Other diagnostic tests

Our Advanced Medical Care physicians use the latest technology, including blood tests, spinal taps, and precision MRI and CT scanning. The choice of test depends on your symptoms and medical history, but the goal is always the same: to provide a detailed map of your headspace.

Whether your recurring headaches stem from lifestyle, the environment, or a neurological condition, we can help. Book an appointment online or call Advanced Medical Care today and get to the bottom of your chronic head pain.