Beginning with a slight heaviness, the pain slowly starts throbbing throughout the head. You start wishing there was a way to extract that vein and release the pressure somehow. It may seem counterintuitive, but this crueller condition is because blood vessels are too relaxed(dilated). What may seem like a solution is the reason for this pain.
The two most prevalent types are migraines and cluster headaches, where each one can bring excruciating pain that can last anywhere from a few minutes to several days.
But how it pulsates becomes essential, the pathophysiology of a headache is like the plot of a superhero movie.
Opening credits
In this phase (premonitory), before the actual headache begins, the brain sends out early warning signals(irritability, food cravings, and fatigue), much like Bruce Wayne’s heightened senses picking up on the Joker’s plan before Gotham even knows something is wrong.
The Rising Tension
Next comes the aura phase, where migraine sufferers experience visual disturbances like seeing flashes of light or zigzag patterns—think of it as Spiderman’s “spidey-sense” tingling.
The Battle
The “Kurukshetra” of the headache phase where everything goes haywire. Here, our defence network (trigeminovascular system) gets activated, causing pain and inflammation, signalling us to take action before it’s too late.
Then there is our communication network(serotonin), akin to the signal flares and earpieces the Avengers use to coordinate during battle. Serotonin helps manage pain and inflammation. An imbalance in these signals leads to the most commonly experienced headache, migraines.
The Aftermath
Just like the Avengers regrouping after defeating the enemy, the body slowly recovers. This is the ‘postdromal‘ phase. People might feel tired, weak, or have difficulty concentrating during this phase. It’s important to rest and allow your body to recover fully.
Factors such as hunger, bright lights, and stress are the most common reasons that set off such a chain of events. Thus, it becomes essential to acknowledge the importance of sleep and diet, especially MSG (monosodium glutamate), which is often found in restaurant food, packaged and canned products. A study conducted at the University Malaya Medical Centre, Malaysia, indicates that a high amount of MSG produces headaches.
Interestingly, withdrawing some foods can also cause headaches to start. The point being, it differs for everyone, and only you can know for sure what food/act specifically triggered the headache. Lastly, aerobic exercise has been shown to reduce the number of headaches by 22–78%.
References:
1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0002934317309324
2.https://thejournalofheadacheandpain.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s10194-022-01402-2
3.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0753332221003425#bbib161
4. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.2147/JPR.S158151#d1e140
grewal 