Patients most often associate pressure pain in the head with high blood pressure. However, arterial hypertension is far from the only reason for the appearance of such a symptom. What diseases cause a feeling of pressure in the skull? And how to get rid of discomfort? We will consider these issues in the article.
Varieties of pain syndrome
Why are there pressure pains in my head? This symptom can indicate a variety of pathologies. Only a doctor can determine the exact etiology of the pain syndrome. However, if you listen to your feelings, you can roughly guess the possible cause of discomfort.
Pressing pains in the head can be divided into several types depending on their etiology:
- neuralgic;
- vascular;
- associated with impaired CSF outflow;
- infectious;
- tension pains.
Next, we will take a closer look at different types of pain syndrome.
Neuralgia
Discomfort may be associated with inflammation or pinched nerve endings. Constant pressing pains in the headoften observed in patients with cervical osteochondrosis and trigeminal neuralgia. However, patients also have other symptoms:
- numbness of fingers, face or neck;
- muscle stiffness in the morning;
- pain in the jaw, temples or neck.
The feeling of squeezing most often occurs in the back of the head, and then spreads to the parietal region. Pain can be either unilateral or bilateral.
Spasms of blood vessels
Very often, a painful sensation of squeezing occurs when the walls of the vessels of the brain narrow. In this case, there is a feeling of fullness and pulsation in the head. Such pains are noted in atherosclerosis and arterial hypertension.
This symptom is accompanied by dizziness, weakness, increased anxiety and irritability.
Disorders of CSF outflow
There are cases when patients have pressing pains in the head that do not go away even after taking potent analgesics and antispasmodics. This may be due to increased intracranial pressure.
CSF constantly circulates in the brain. This fluid is constantly produced by the ependymal cells, passes through the meninges, and is then absorbed into the bloodstream. It is necessary to protect nerve tissues from harmful influences.
With various diseases of the central nervous system and head injuries, the amount of cerebrospinal fluid increases dramatically. The fluid begins to compress the brain tissue. This condition is called intracranial hypertension. It is accompanied by severe pressing pain inhead. Patients have a sensation as if their skull were pulled together by a tight hoop. This is often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
Against the background of infection
In infectious diseases, a compressive headache is associated with intoxication of the body with bacterial and viral toxins. At the same time, a person’s general well-being worsens, weakness and aching joints appear.
Pressing pain in the head of infectious etiology does not have a clear localization. It is poorly controlled by analgesics. You can completely get rid of the pain syndrome only after recovery.
Muscle tension
Tension headache is a very common occurrence. It occurs after hard physical or mental work, as well as against the background of stress. The cause of pressing pain in the head is overexertion of the neck muscles.
Painful squeezing is felt over the entire surface of the skull. It does not have a specific localization. At the same time, a person feels weakness, anxiety, his activity and efficiency decrease. Discomfort usually resolves with rest or a light massage.
Next, we will consider the possible causes of pain depending on its location.
In the back of the head
Pressing pain in the head, localized in the back of the head, may be a sign of the following diseases:
- Anemia. Decreased hemoglobin primarily affects brain tissue. central nervous systemexperiencing severe oxygen deficiency. Pressing pain first occurs in the back of the head, and then goes to the frontal and temporal region. This is accompanied by weakness, fatigue and dizziness.
- Cervical osteochondrosis. Deformed vertebrae can compress the nerve endings and blood vessels of the head. As a result, the outflow of blood is sharply disturbed. Because of this, soreness occurs, which spreads from the back of the head to the neck area. Often this is accompanied by severe muscle stiffness, especially in the morning hours.
- Injuries to the back of the head and neck. After severe bruising, there is swelling of the tissues and compression of the vessels. This is accompanied by headache and a feeling of fullness in the skull. Severe injuries also cause dizziness, vomiting, confusion and fainting.
Temples
Pressing pains in the head and temples are most often a sign of migraine. The pain syndrome is paroxysmal in nature. First, a person feels drowsiness, he has visual disturbances: flashing of colored zigzags and circles before his eyes. The patient becomes extremely sensitive to sounds and smells. These symptoms indicate an upcoming migraine attack. Then there is an excruciating pressing pain in the head. It is one-sided. The attack lasts from several minutes to several hours.
Pressing pains in the head and temples may be associated with hunger. This feeling is often experienced by people who follow strict diets. In case of malnutrition, the body producesglucose deficiency. This leads to compressive pain in the temples. Unpleasant sensations usually disappear after eating.
Forehead pressure
Pressing headache in the forehead is most often infectious-toxic in nature. It can be caused by the following diseases and conditions:
- Sinusitis. Inflammation of the frontal sinuses causes severe pain. There is an unpleasant feeling of fullness in the superciliary region. Pain radiates to the eye area. Sinusitis usually occurs as a complication of colds. This pathology is accompanied by nasal congestion and fever.
- SARS and influenza. With viral colds, the superciliary region swells. Swollen tissues press on the vessels. This causes pain in the forehead. Often such a symptom occurs at the very beginning of the disease, when there are no pronounced manifestations of a cold yet.
- Hypothermia. If a person is in the cold for a long time without a hat, then he may experience squeezing pain in the forehead. It is caused by vasospasm from cold. Pain syndrome quickly disappears after warming.
Pain in the forehead can also be caused by increased arterial or intracranial pressure. In this case, the patient feels dizzy, nausea, weakness. With high blood pressure, there is a rapid heartbeat and flickering of black dots in the field of vision. The pain syndrome is bursting in nature.
Eye pressure
Often, patients complain that they have pain in the head and pressure on the eyes. Most often thisassociated with severe fatigue of the organ of vision. At the same time, pressure is felt from the inside on the eyeballs and bursting in the forehead. This condition can occur after a long work at the computer or doing needlework. In such cases, you need to give your eyes a rest, usually after that the soreness disappears.
Similar pain can also occur with the wrong selection of glasses. If the distance between the centers of the lenses does not match the gap between the pupils, then you may experience a headache and a feeling of pressure on the eyes from the inside.
However, there are also dangerous causes of pressing pain in the head and eyes. This symptom may be a sign of meningitis. This is a serious infectious disease, accompanied by inflammation of the membranes of the brain. The pain syndrome in meningitis is extremely pronounced. The patient's temperature rises sharply and he alth worsens. There is photophobia, nausea, confusion, weakness.
Headache and a feeling of pressure in the eyes can be one of the early signs of glaucoma. The leading symptom of the disease is pain in the eyeballs and deterioration of lateral vision. Headache is secondary. Pathology is accompanied by an increase in intraocular pressure and, without treatment, can lead to loss of vision.
Diagnosis
There are many causes of a compressive headache. When such symptoms appear, it is necessary to consult a therapist or neurologist. To establish the etiology of the pain syndrome, the doctor may prescribe the following examinations:
- blood test for biochemical parameters;
- Head MRI;
- electroencephalogram;
- duplex scanning of neck and head vessels;
- fundus examination;
- spinal tap for CSF examination;
- measuring blood pressure.
Treatment
Treatment for compressive pain syndrome depends on its cause. As a symptomatic therapy, analgesics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used:
- "Analgin".
- "Pentalgin".
- "Ketanov".
- "Ibuprofen".
- "Nise".
- "Spazmalgin".
However, such drugs do not help to relieve pain in all cases. For example, with increased intracranial pressure, the patient's condition does not improve after taking painkillers. Therefore, it is necessary to undergo a course of therapy aimed at eliminating the cause of the pain syndrome. The choice of treatment method depends on the type of pathology. The most commonly used drug groups are:
- Anspasmodics. Used for pain caused by neck muscle tension and vasoconstriction.
- Diuretics. They are prescribed for intracranial hypertension. They remove fluid from the body and reduce the pressure of the cerebrospinal fluid on the brain tissue.
- Antihypertensive drugs. These drugs are indicated for pain associated with high blood pressure.
- Sedatives and antidepressants. They are helpingrelieve pain in stressful situations.
- Antibiotics and antivirals. These drugs are effective for pain of infectious-toxic etiology.
- Iron preparations. Such funds are prescribed for pain of anemic origin.
- Triptans. These drugs are used for migraine, as well as for trigeminal neuralgia. They stimulate the production of a special pain-relieving protein.
Non-drug treatments are also used. With cervical osteochondrosis and tension pains, massage sessions, physiotherapy, therapeutic exercises, manual therapy are indicated. If the pain syndrome is associated with frequent stress and emotional instability, then yoga and psychotherapy sessions are recommended for patients.
Prevention
How to prevent an attack of pressing pain in the head? To do this, you must adhere to the following recommendations of doctors:
- quit alcohol and smoking;
- avoid staying in stuffy and smoky rooms;
- take daily walks in the fresh air;
- choose a comfortable pillow for sleeping;
- reduce food rich in carbohydrates and harmful lipids;
- sleep at least 8-9 hours a night;
- avoid eye fatigue;
- take vitamin complexes in the winter-autumn period.
These rules must be observed constantly, and not only during the period of exacerbation of pain. If the feeling of squeezing in the head is associated with chronic pathologies, then such patientsyou need to visit a doctor regularly and control your blood pressure.
