In this mini blog, we review primary vs secondary, and acute vs chronic recurrent headaches and assessment overview.
Headaches are typically classified as either primary or secondary. Primary means the headache occurs without an apparent reason and isn’t related to another health issue. Migraine headaches are a good example of primary headaches. Secondary headaches on the other hand occur because of an underlying issue. A good example of a secondary headache is one that appears after trauma to the head after a fall.
Headaches can also be further classified as either short term vs recurring over a longer span. Acute headaches are present in the short term and can appear without warning or an obvious cause to you. Chronic recurrent headaches are typically ones that may last hours to days, and reoccur multiple times over weeks, months or even years.
Headaches are often hard to classify and understand. You should leave it to health professionals with the necessary qualifications to properly examine and treat you. In medical and chiropractic practice, astute clinicians use numerous methods to ascertain possible causes of you headache.
As your chiropractor, part of my job is ask informative questions, perform an appropriate physical exam to determine possible physical deficits and decide on treatment or referral options. In most cases, patients with migraine type and cervicogenic type are good candidates for chiropractic care while patients with potentially concerning clinical situations may warrant a precautionary or immediate referral for care.
As part of my blog series for headaches, Ill be tackling easy to follow topics that every person suffering from headaches should know. Keep reading, stay informed and keep well!
