Knowledge

Understand the difference between tension headaches and migraines

The most notable differences between tension headaches and migraines lie in the quality of pain, accompanying symptoms and triggering factors.

Medicinsk godkendt artikel

Many people may find it difficult to tell the difference between tension headaches and migraines.

The most notable differences lie in the quality of pain, accompanying symptoms and triggering factors. Migraine is often more intense and is accompanied by additional symptoms such as nausea and sensitivity to light, which is not typical for tension headaches.

Read more about migraines or tension headache.

Below are the criteria for migraine and tension headache


Kriterium	Spændings- hovedpine	Migræne
1. Smertekvalitet	Konstant, oftest trykkende smerte.	Dunkende/pulserende smerte
2. Lokalisation	Oftest begge sider eller omkring hele hovedet	Ofte kun på en side af hovedet
3. Intensitet	Oftest mild til moderat	Oftest moderat til svær
4. Fysisk aktivitet	Forværres oftest ikke ved fysisk aktivitet	Forværres ofte ved fysisk aktivitet
5. Varighed	30 minutter til en uge	4 timer til 3 døgn
6. Ledsage- symptomer	Enten ingen eller kun lyd- eller lysfølsomhed. Kan være ledsaget af madlede eller ganske let kvalme	Altid ledsaget af enten kvalme +/- opkast og/eller både lyd- og lysfølsomhed

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If at least 2 of the criteria 1-4 and the accompanying symptoms are present, it is probably a migraine.

As can be seen from the chart, therefore, there are many different degrees of severity of both tension headaches and migraines both in relation to pain intensity and accompanying symptoms. In the individual, the episodes may also be different from time to time. So even if you experience both mild and severe headache attacks, you don't necessarily have both tension headaches and migraines.

Difference in triggers/triggers

Migraines and tension headaches can in some be triggered by various factors. It varies from person to person which triggers one experiences, the most frequent triggers are listed below


	Spændings- hovedpine	Migræne
Udløsere / triggers	Stress, Søvnmangel, Dårlig kropsholdning og muskelspæninger, Væskemangel	Stress, Søvnmangel, Hormoner, Fødevarer, Miljø/vejrskift

When to seek medical help for headaches

If headaches are frequent, severe or accompanied by other symptoms such as visual disturbances or numbness, it is important to seek medical help for proper diagnosis and treatment.

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