"Tension type headaches are the most common, affecting upwards of 75% of all headache sufferers."




Anthony Foster, M.D. is a Board Certified Family Practice Physician at Mecosta Health Services in Big Rapids.
He offers medical care to adults and children and will care for you both in the office and at the hospital.
He offers medical care to adults and children and will care for you both in the office and at the hospital.
Office hours are 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Foster, please call MHS at (231) 796-3200.



Research: American Council for Headache Education
National Headache Awareness

What You Should Know About Headache
  During the past year, nearly 90% of men and 95% of women have had at least one headache.
  Store shelves hold a remarkable array of pain relievers, so you need more facts than ever to select one that best meets your needs.

There are two main types of headache:

Primary and Secondary

  1. Primary headaches include tension-type, migraine, and cluster headaches and are not caused by other underlying medical conditions. More than 90% of headaches are primary.
  2. Secondary headaches result from other medical conditions, such as infection or increased pressure in the skull due to a tumor. These account for fewer than 10% of all headaches.

How Headaches Differ

Tension-type headaches
Tension type headaches are the most common, affecting upwards of 75% of all headache sufferers.
  As many as 90% of adults have had tension-type headache.
  Tension-type headaches are typically a steady ache rather than a throbbing one and affect both sides of the head.
  Some people get tension-type (and migraine) headaches in response to stressful events or a hectic day.
  Tension-type headaches may also be chronic, occurring frequently or even every day.

 Migraine Headaches:
Migraine headaches are less common than tension-type headaches. Nevertheless, migraines afflict 25 to 30 million people in the United States alone.

  As many as 6% of all men and up to 18% of all women (about 12% of the population as a whole) experience a migraine headache at some time.
Roughly three out of four migraine sufferers are female.
  Among the most distinguishing features is the potential disability accompanying the headache pain of a migraine.
  Migraines are felt on one side of the head by about 60% of migraine sufferers, and the pain is typically throbbing in nature.
  Nausea, with or without vomiting, as well as sensitivity to light and sound often accompany migraines.
  An aura--a group of telltale neurological symptoms--sometimes occurs before the head pain begins. Typically, an aura involves a disturbance in vision that may consist of brightly colored or blinking lights in a pattern that moves across the field of vision.
  About one in five migraine sufferers experiences an aura.

Usually, migraine attacks are occasional, or sometimes as often as once or twice a week, but not daily.

Characteristics Associated with Primary Headaches Help Differentiate Tension-Type Headaches from Migraine
Columns A and B show the symptoms commonly seen in two types of headache. Compare your symptoms

 with those listed and determine what type of headache you may have by noting whether your symptoms are most like those in column A or B. Some people have both of these types of headache.

Symptom A
Tension		 B
Migraine
Intensity and Quality of Pain
Mild-to-moderate
Moderate-to-severe
Intense, pounding, throbbing and/or debilitating  
Distracting but not debilitating  
Steady ache  
Location of Pain
One side of head  
Both sides of head
Associated Symptoms
Nausea/vomiting  
Sensitivity to light and/or sounds  
Aura before onset of headache such as visual symptoms  
Note: Rebound headache may have features of tension and/or migraine headache

Cluster Headaches:
Cluster headaches are relatively rare, affecting about 1% of the population. They are distinct from migraine and tension-type headaches.
  Most cluster headache sufferers are male-about 85%.
  Cluster headaches come in groups or clusters lasting weeks or months.
  The pain is extremely severe but the attack is brief, lasting no more than a hour or two.


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