Every adult has experienced a headache at some point. However, headaches vary greatly in frequency and severity. Most people can self-diagnose their own headaches and often turn to over-the-counter medications to help relieve the pain. However, doctors do not have any set of tests to diagnose headache types and causes. Instead, they mostly rely on the description that patients give them, and typically, the descriptions of the symptoms of headache pains vary wildly.

There are plenty of different types of headache symptoms that people have to contend with. Since there are so many different types, the symptoms vary from one extreme to the other.

Tension headaches are the most common type of headaches experienced by many. Tension headaches result from the tightening of muscles in the back, neck, shoulders and face.

Migraines, on the other hand, affect about 6% of men and 13% of women. Compared to tension headaches, migraines can be much more intense and last longer.

While everyone suffers from a headache at one point or another, some individuals are more at risk to experiencing more severe and sudden frequent headaches than others. There are several studies that are able to pinpoint the likely culprits. These studies are still ongoing, and they are continually looking at the risk for the various types of headaches including tension headaches, migraines and cluster headaches.

Tension headaches are headaches that result from the muscles tensing up. Tension headaches can be triggered by normal daily activities including the way you hold the phone and how you sit. Your muscles are continually stretching and you can cause them to become inflamed by your actions. This in turn can result in tension headaches occurring.

Cluster headaches are relatively rare, but people who suffer from them can tell you that they are the most painful type of headache you will ever experience. Approximately 10% of the population is affected by migraines, but less than one-third of 1% of these people have experienced the symptoms of a cluster headache. Migraine headaches can be rather painful, but the pain brought on by migraines cannot hold a stick to the pain caused by a cluster headache. Very few people suffer from cluster headaches, less than 1% of the population actually.

While most of us have suffered from a headache at one time or another, all headaches differ in severity as well as what brings them on. There are hundreds of different reasons for what causes a headache, including the more serious ones involving medical ailments such as brain tumors and aneurysms. Most of us only suffer from common headaches that while annoying and painful, these common headaches can be treated effectively with over-the-counter medications.

Headaches are a common occurrence in our society; in fact, each one of us has experienced a headache at one time or another. However, there is still so much that we do not understand about headache types and causes. While we know some of the triggers, it is hard to pinpoint the exact cause of many types of headaches. There are so many variables as well as degrees of pain associated with the different types that studying them is very difficult.