Diagnosis of Headache

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What is health? It is important to first define health because headache is a symptom of some underlying cause, especially chronic headache. Headache is an indication of lack of health.

Health is the optimal functioning of the unity of body, mind and soul. It is not just absence of disease.



Physical health is just the outward representation of the health of the mind and soul.


According to the International Headache Society, there are over 200 different types of headaches. The most important ones are:

  • Tension-type headaches (TTH)

  • Migraine headaches

  • Cluster headaches

  • Medication-overuse headaches (MOH)

And then there are subcategories, such as, migraine with aura and migraine without aura.

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Some general principles about diagnosing your headache:

  • Headaches are diagnosed according to the characteristics of the pain.

  • Note the location of the pain, the type of pain, any exacerbating or relieving factors, what triggers the headache, the presence or absence of auras, and family history.

  • The factors that make you who you are: personality, likes/dislikes, the type of work you do, the level of stress you face on a daily basis and your ability to cope with it, and most importantly, your purpose in life.


The first job is to determine if your headache is primary or secondary.

Secondary does not mean that it is not as important as primary.

  • Primary means that there is NO underlying identifiable cause

  • Secondary means that the headache is due to some underlying medical problem.

All headaches are either primary or secondary.

Let’s first discuss the secondary headaches.