Headache

Headache is the most common pain complaint that healthcare practitioners treat. Statistics show that 76% of women and 57% of men in America report at least one significant headache per month. It is estimated that 1 million school days and over 150 million workdays are lost per month due to headache.

There are two general classes of headaches: primary and secondary. The primary headaches are migraine and cluster (much less common) and the secondary are everything else, including tension type headache, which is by far the most common. Occasionally headache can be associated with a life threatening condition such as bacterial meningitis, intracerebral hemorrhage or brain tumor, but the vast majority of headaches, while they may be temporarily disabling, are benign. Especially severe headache pain in an individual who is not normally subject to headaches may be a warning sign of something more serious.

The majority of people with headaches rarely seek treatment. It is estimated that 60-70% of migraine patients are never diagnosed properly and most simply use over the counter headache preparations or take nothing at all. Some of these statistics reflect the fact that tens of millions of Americans are uninsured or underinsured and choose not to see physicians or other healthcare practitioners for such problems.

There is a great deal of information available on the internet about the diagnosis and treatment of headaches and this type of information is largely well known to primary care physicians, who treat most patients who seek medical attention. If, however, that treatment is not successful you should ask your doctor to refer you for a specialty consultation. Neurologists have the best and most extensive training on headache, and are generally the medical specialty of choice for treament of these conditions. When even they cannot control a patient’s headaches they may in turn refer on to specialty pain clinics or practitioners, a few of which are exclusively dedicated to the treatment of headaches.

One special category of headaches called Chronic Daily Headache is worthy of further commentary. This is a condition that often evolves from unsuccessful treatment of migraine (some estimates up to 15-20% of cases) and usually requires the expertise and services of specialty pain clinics. People with this condition are especially likely to be out of work and suffering with serious associated medical problems such as depression or analgesic (pain) drug dependency or addiction. Left untreated their suffering is likely to go unchecked for very long periods of time, with spontaneous remissions unlikely. Centennial Rehabilitation Associates has the expertise to properly assess and devise treatment plans for such patients and to assist primary care physicians with long-range maintenance treatment options.