How Do I Know If My Headache Is a Tension Headache?

The tightness in your forehead that refuses to let go. The weight pulling you down into your head by mid-afternoon. The type of headache that doesn't cause throbbing, nausea, photophobia, or any other symptoms, but rather just presses and grinds at your mind throughout the day.

This is most likely a tension headache. If this has been happening often to you and you don’t know why, then odds are good that the reason is sitting right in front of your face. Literally. Having a poorly aligned bite or constantly clenching your jaw can lead to these occurring almost every day, and yet people fail to make that connection.

Tension headache treatment in Tacoma at MK Perio is what tends to do the trick when nothing else does for months.

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What a Tension Headache Actually Feels Like

The type of sensation is quite distinct once you get used to identifying its presence. It's not a migraine. There's no aura, no visual disturbances, and certainly no nausea. Instead, you'll experience a constant pain that seems like a tight band on your head.

A number of symptoms typically occur simultaneously:

●      Constant pressure-like sensation: This kind of sensation does not beat to your pulse like a migraine does. Instead, it's constant and persistent like a vice someone left too tight.

●      Muscle aches: The muscles in your head and neck area will hurt whenever a really bad spell occurs.

●      Both sides equally: Tension headaches almost always affect both sides of the head. If the pain is behind one eye or one temple only, something else might be going on.

When this becomes a regular part of your week, finding actual headache relief near you matters a lot more than just grabbing whatever's in the medicine cabinet.

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The Jaw Connection Most People Miss

Your chewing muscles are surprisingly powerful. Like, genuinely strong. And when something is off with your bite, those muscles stay partially contracted basically all the time, just trying to compensate and find a comfortable resting position that doesn't quite exist.

The pressure is not confined to the jaw and spreads. It moves up to your temples, your forehead, your base of the skull.

The loss of teeth alters how the bite works. Even uneven wearing contributes to it. The imbalance in the jaws causes every chew and even the act of closing the mouth to strain the muscles far more than necessary. In time, exhaustion manifests itself as headaches, distracting one from everything else.

Seeing a periodontist in Tacoma who understands bite structure can actually get to the root of this in a way that a neurologist or general doctor simply won't think to look at.

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Nighttime Grinding Makes Everything Worse

Many people wake up with an impending headache without knowing what causes it. They had slept well, taken sufficient water, and went to bed at an appropriate time. The problem is what their jaw was doing while they were unconscious.

Bruxism, meaning grinding during sleep, puts enormous sustained pressure on the temporomandibular joint, where your jaw connects to your skull. Hours of that every night throws the surrounding muscles into a kind of chronic spasm. By the morning, they find themselves tired, along with a persistent headache.

This habit may be difficult to notice yourself; however, your partner could hear the sound first, or a periodontist near you would notice the worn-out enamel during one of your appointments. Either way, once it gets identified, there are straightforward ways to manage it.

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What Tension Headache Treatment in Tacoma Actually Looks Like

MK Perio doesn't just hand over a pamphlet about stress management and call it done. Dr. Minou Karbakhsch, Dr. Michi Katafuchi, and Dr. Yi-Chen Chiang bring over forty-five years of combined experience looking at exactly these kinds of connections between oral structure and whole-body symptoms.

Two things that tend to make the biggest difference for headache relief near you:

● Custom Nightguards

It is a small appliance that can be worn while sleeping and prevents the teeth from contacting. It takes the pressure away from the jaw joint, allowing the muscles to rest. Most people will feel the effects in a matter of weeks or less.

● Bite Correction

When missing teeth are the underlying issue, dental implants can restore proper alignment and take the compensatory strain off the muscles that were working overtime. The headaches often improve significantly once the bite stabilizes.

Headache Relief Near You Shouldn't Be This Hard to Find

Chronic tension headaches are draining, and many people have simply gotten used to them and have accepted them as the way things are. But that doesn't have to be the case. If you have done everything else and still suffer from that same familiar headache spreading from your forehead upon waking up, it may be best to consult a periodontist near you about your bite.

MK Perio offers flexible financing through CareCredit and LendingClub and a completely welcoming environment for new patients. Call 253-752-6336 or book online.

Real tension headache treatment in Tacoma that looks at the actual cause, not just the symptom, is available, and it starts with one appointment with a trusted periodontist in Tacoma.