BCP Headaches Flashcards
What are falls under the category of Primary headaches?
Primary:
-Most common
- Migrains
- Tension
- Cluster
- Sinus
- Hormonal
- Cervicogenic
What falls under the category of Secondary Headaches?
- Inter-cranial Haemorrhage
- Temporal Arteritis
- Internal Carotid Artery dissection
There are two type of headaches, what are they?
- Primary (More common)
- Secondary (Rare and dangerous)
What is the acronym for secondary headaches that might indicate this is the issue?
SNOOP:
- Systemic illness
- Neurological Signs
- Onset: new/sudden
- Other medical issues
- Previous History
What’s is the Presentation of Migraine headaches?
- mostly Unilateral (70%)
- Gradual onset of
- 4-27 hours duration
- Nausea and bright lights painful
- treated with NSAID and water
What is the presentation of Tension Headaches
- Most common type.
- Bi-lateral pain
- pressure, tightness, comes and goes
- duration is variable
- treated with water and pain killers
What is the presentation of cluster headache?
- Associated with Trigeminal Neuralgia
- Always unilateral and behind/around the eye.
- Sudden onset
-Explosive, deep, severe pain
Associated symptoms:
-Trgeminal nerve issues
- Horner’s Syndrome (dropping eyes, contraction of pupils, Tear discharge, Nasal discharge)
- treated through Tristan’s and oxygen
What is the presentation of Sins Headaches?
- associated with Sinusitis
- location: Bilateral, middle of the head, eyes and nose
-character: gradual onset, stuffy - duration is variable
- painkillers treatment
What is the presentation of a hormonal headache?
- associated with change in hormones
- Location: Variable, everywhere
- Characteristic: Gradual, mild and annoying
- Change in hormones and mood
What is the presentation of Cervicogenic Headaches?
- associated with neck pain
- location: bilateral, back/top head and neck.
- characteristic: Gradual, stiff, dizzy
- neck pain and stiffness
Is there a typical population that suffer from headaches?
No - it effects everyone with a similar prevalence
Why is recent trauma such as a fall, or prolonged headaches an issue?
They are red flags
What are the red flags for headaches that might mean they are secondary?
- blurred vision
- slurred speech
- prolonged headaches (multi days)
- nerve pain and numbness
What would make us suspect it is Cervicogenic headache?
Pain after a blow or exercise as this indicates it’s musculoskeletal in nature
What would we do for a physical examination of the Cervicogenic headache?
- Active and passive neck ROM
- palpate neck and shoulders
- does overpressure cause Headache or pain
What techniques would we use for treatments of headaches.
- education (aggs/ease, modification, reduction, nutrition, screen time, overall pattern)
- physical activity (neck exercises, walking and low grade cardio)
What exercise would we use for rehab or treatment of headaches.
- neck protraction and retraction
- neck ROM (lateral flexion/rotation)
-Try same exercises with lying for more support or harder against gravity - add bands as progression for neck exercise.
