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INTRO

WELCOME TO
HEADACHE HURTS

UNDERSTANDING AND
PREVENTING HEADACHES

As many as two-thirds of students in Germany suffer from headaches. It’s time to do something about it.

 

HEADACHE HURTS tells you what causes headaches and what you can do to prevent them. The information presented here is based on the latest research. KNOW YOUR TYPE: Find out all you need to know about what causes the three main headache types and identify your headache. Learn STEP BY STEP what you can do to prevent headaches. Discover a range of TOOLS to help you on your way. Watch this VIDEO to get started.

 

LEARN MORE:

HEADACHE HURTS
THE MOVIE

6 MINUTES
TO GET YOU STARTED

IN DETAIL:

THE THREE MOST COMMON
HEADACHE TYPES

THE FACTS ABOUT CAUSE
AND PREVENTION

Tension-type
headache

Medication
overuse
headache

EVEN MORE:

LATEST
ARTICLES

KEEPING UP
WITH THE SCIENCE

The Medication-Overuse Headache – a painful paradox

The medication-overuse headache (referred to hereafter as MOH) has been well-known for a relatively long time. It was first described as an independent phenomenon in 1951. According to its definition, the MOH is a so-called secondary headache...

PREVENTION IN PRACTICE

Studying was badly affected by the coronavirus crisis. Many new students were caught unawares by the suspension of in-person events and could not enjoy lectures and classes in a familiar environment

Prevention in Practice

For many of us, the summer holidays are the best time of year. We have put together several tips in this article on how to achieve real relaxation – regardless of whether you want to take some time

DEEP DIVE

The fact that stress is a key factor in the development of migraine attacks is undisputed and repeatedly backed up by research. In practice, it is clear that people with migraine who succeed in

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Our genes are subject to the laws of evolution. Since the beginnings of humanity, they have undergone constant change, and still do to this day. We know that the course of evolution intends for traits

The bigger picture

We all know about pain. Pain is an important mode of communication between us and our organism. Contrary to what has long been assumed, it seems that there are differences between men and women when

DEEP DIVE

In our last article, we presented several explanatory approaches to the connection between blood pressure and headaches. In this continuation, we will be explaining a further, much-discussed

DEEP DIVE

The question of how headaches and high blood pressure relate to each other has a long tradition in medical research. Even today, the results in this field are very inconsistent and continue to give

Living with Tension-Type Headache

If you sleep badly, you have a higher risk of getting headaches. At the same time, headaches often bring about sleeping problems. It is undisputed that both headaches and bad sleep influence each

The bigger picture

The World Health Organisation (WHO) counts migraine as one of the most severely disabling illnesses affecting humanity; in general, headache disorders are a great burden to those affected by them. In

PREVENTION IN PRACTICE

Stress is an undisputed factor in the development of headaches and migraine. Relaxing and calming measures are important pillars of migraine and headache prevention, and current research supports this

DEEP DIVE

The fact that wearing face masks can effectively prevent getting infected with the coronavirus, is now adequately proven. Covid face masks therefore belong to the repertoire of measures we are

DEEP DIVE

Migraine is a neurological disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. Centuries-worth of research into this complex clinical entity is continuing to give birth to new hypotheses. The last few

The bigger picture

The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks migraine among the world’s most disabling illnesses. Yet migraine stigma persists. Many people are skeptical about migraine and other headache disorders,

Prevention in Practice

Holistic management of migraine and other types of headache now offers a treatment arsenal that is about much more than medication alone. In fact, it embraces many elements of behavioral therapy.

The bigger picture

In a world full of sensory overload, silence is something many people only know from hearsay. This article looks at why unplugging from environmental noise is good medicine for headaches and migraine

Prevention in Practice

The classic advice from experts in headache prevention is to drink regularly. Boozing every night? Well, no. They mean staying hydrated and giving your body the fluids it needs. Specialists recommend

DEEP DIVE

The brains of people with migraine have a special way of processing sensory input. Headache research suggests that a migraine brain responds to incoming stimuli sooner and faster than a non-migraine

Living with Migraine

The diet-headache connection is one of the hottest of topics for patients and experts alike. Migraine sufferers often see a direct link between how and what they eat and a migraine attack. This

Give yourself a break

Studies show that headache disorders take a heavy toll on student productivity and performance. Nearly one in three sufferers reported 'severe disability' (the highest severity level) using the MIDAS

The bigger picture

Humans are hard-wired to follow a routine. Your natural 24-hour cycle (circadian rhythm) governs many of the physiological processes in your body, including brain activity, blood pressure, hormones

DEEP DIVE

Paradoxical but true: medications you take for headache relief can themselves trigger headaches. A nervous system control mechanism is behind this phenomenon. Taking painkillers regularly and for a

Living with Migraine

Many people with a migraine will try to get out of the light. Often they have no choice but to go into a dark room and wait for the attack to end. Increased sensitivity to light is common in people

Current Research

All the statistics show that migraine affects women more than men, but experts disagree on what causes this gender gap. The role of sex hormones as migraine triggers is a hot research topic these

Digital stress and its consequences

Digital stress (or technostress) is a burgeoning area of interest in medical and social science research. How does it affect us to be surrounded by digital media in almost every area of our lives?

Prevention in Practice

Congratulations, you made it through another digital semester of online lectures, studying alone on your laptop, the final push to pass your exams. Semester break is here and you so deserve it. As the

Prevention in Practice

Where would we be without our smartphones? Life these days is hard to imagine without a phone to plan the day, find information we need right this second, keep up with hobbies or just to pass the

The bigger picture

Rarely has a saying been more apt than now. Covid is a headache on so many levels. The contact restrictions are causing profound distress. Fear and uncertainty are everywhere. Will it ever go away?

The bigger picture

Do short, gray, sunless winter days get you down? You’re not alone. The science is clear: daylight-deprived winter days affect our mood. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors would say it’s time to retreat

Current Research

Everyone has a different noise tolerance level. One person’s “barely noticeable” is another’s “unbearable”. Many people find it especially hard to be around those everyday sounds we hear all the time.

Prevention in Practice

The most strenuous events are not usually distributed evenly across the week. Monday mornings (that notorious 8. a.m. lecture...) can frazzle your nerves and set the week off to a highly stressful

DEEP DIVE

Vertigo (spinning dizziness) in migraine has only recently gained traction as a research topic. The science on migraine-related vertigo is unclear. One study found that only 10% of people are

Current Research

Coffee ranks high on the headache triggers list. The ingredient that gives you the buzz – caffeine – is one of the best-loved psychostimulants (uppers) ever. As a pick-me-up at work or just to hang

Prevention in Practice

In a 2018 study by Turner and Houle, headache patients were asked what factors commonly trigger their pain. Three-quarters said stress was the main trigger, closely followed by "irregular meals" and

The bigger picture

Teeth grinding (bruxism) has been commonly linked to headache. Bruxism is not a niche phenomenon. One in five female college students and one-tenth of their male peers are aware that they clench or

The bigger picture

The exercise-headache connection continues to vex scientists. Conducting genuine evidence-based science is hard because, first, the research conditions are difficult to standardize; second, many of

Living with Migraine

Migraine is not an allergic disorder, but migraine is more common in people with allergies. Doctors noticed the link more than a century ago. Individual case reports dating mainly from the first half

The bigger picture

The "HEADACHE HURTS" campaign taught us that (especially if you have migraine) about 7 hours of regular, undisturbed sleep is a great way to stop horrible headache attacks or at least not provoke them

Prevention in Practice

Headaches make it harder to think, reason and remember – so when you need to be on top of your game, pampering your brain is crucial. Proactive headache prevention is essential, because you need to be

The bigger picture

The impact of weather on wellbeing features regularly on just about every media channel you could name. With so many people reporting that changes in the weather trigger a migraine or tension-type

DEEP DIVE

Your brain produces large amounts of waste products (cellular detritus; remnants of dead cells, proteins and much more) that need to be cleared away to keep your brain healthy.

One example of harmful

Prevention in Practice

Careful nutrition can help prevent headaches. But careful nutrition doesn’t just mean what you eat, but when and how. Migraine patients benefit from a regular daily routine that is less likely to

DEEP DIVE

The term “stress” as used today was coined by Hans Selye, a Hungarian-Canadian clinician who defined it as "the non-specific response of the body to any demand for change". Selye once called stress

STRONG PARTNERS
FOR A GOOD CAUSE: