RN Headache symptoms account for a large proportion of phone calls and visits to doctors offices. Health professionals need to be aware of the signs and symptoms associated with the different types of headaches. A number of pain sensitive structures and mechanisms can be involved in headache, including the skin and periosteum over the outer skull, the dura mater with its venous sinuses and tributary branches of Cranial Nerves V, IX, and X, and the large arteries at the base of the skull. Headache can result from compression, traction, inflammation, or displacement of any of these structures. Pain can also be referred from other cranial structures such as the scalp, neck, and extracocular muscles, as well as the air cells of the mastoid and paranasal sinuses.
Tension headaches are the most common form of headache.
These headaches are characterized by a sustained constriction of the scalp and neck muscles and can occur by themselves or as the residual of a migraine. They are usually caused by tension or poor posture and they may or may not have a vascular component. Tension headaches are often mistaken for migraines and the difference between the two should be noted. Tension headaches involves more of the scalp muscle and leads to a more prolonged pain sensation. The pain is often described as a pressure or tightness around the neck and head and is often bilateral.