Other Headaches

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In addition to migraine-like headaches, many people across Canada experience headaches with other causes including tension-type headaches, post-traumatic headache, primary stabbing headache (“ice-pick headache”), sinus headache, and many more.

Migraine Canada is committed to sharing information and resources about other types of headaches in order to help more Canadians understand, manage, and find treatment for headache symptoms from a wide range of causes, including but not limited to migraine.

Fast Facts About Headaches…

Headache is a symptom, not a diagnosis
Headaches are not always easy to diagnose
The impact of headaches on quality of life is underestimated
Many headaches are chronic (last for years) and cannot be cured
Headaches can require a global approach that is often not accessible
The science on headache is evolving fast and there is hope

Frequently Asked Questions About Headaches

What is the most common cause of headaches?

Headache is a common symptom that can be caused by more than 200 different medical problems. The most common classification of headache is tension-like headache. It is thought to be caused by an interplay between psychological tension and muscle tension. Unlike other headache types, it does not result from illness or lesions.

Migraine-like headache is the second most common classification. It is caused by the neurological disease migraine.

Is Migraine a type of headache?

No, migraine is not a type of headache. Migraine is a neurological disease, and headache is a common symptom of that disease. A “migraine-like headache” is the medical term used to describe a headache caused by migraine.

Can people with migraine get other types of headaches?

Yes! People with migraine have particular brains that may be prone to developing other types of headaches. This includes:

Post-traumatic headache
Primary stabbing headache (“ice-pick headache”)
Cold stimulus-evoked headache (“ice-cream headache”)
Tension-type headache
Cervicogenic headache
Sinus headache
Sleep apnea headaches
Medication-overuse headache

For more information on this topic, read our article on other headaches associated with migraine.

Are headaches a public health concern?

Globally, 2% of the population experience chronic tension-type headache. When other types of headache are added to this rate, it is clear that headaches are a public health concern and that headache clinics should be available to Canadians.

For comparison, the prevalences of other well-known diseases

Asthma: 8%

Diabetes: 7%

Epilepsy: 1%

Multiple sclerosis: 2/1000