There is no consensus on what the best treatment is, but commonly recommended approaches include over the counter painkillers, physical therapy and in some cases antidepressants. Their causes are also unknown - although stress and depression have been implicated. Finding out what is behind them brings doctors one step closer to a cure. There are two types of tension, or stress, headache. Episodic tension headaches can occur infrequently, such as one brought on by an individual stressful event.
Tension headaches can affect anyone Chronic tension headaches occur frequently.
Someone is diagnosed as suffering chronic tension-type headaches when they occur 15 or more times a month for six months. Both types are characterised by a band of pain in the temporal region of the head. Now scientists have found that a substance that inhibits the production of nitric oxide can relieve the pain of chronic tension-type headaches. The research was conducted by Dr Messoud Ashina and colleagues from Glostrup Hospital and the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. They published their findings in the Lancet medical journal on Friday.