Reliable Care for Headache in Southern California

Most people experience a headache once or more throughout life. While most aren’t a cause for concern, some headaches can be a sign of a dangerous health problem, like a stroke.

At Dignity Health Southern California, our highly-skilled doctors treat a range of neurological conditions with humankindness. To request an appointment, Find a Doctor online.

You can find care for any type of headache in Southern California at these locations:

Headache Symptoms

The most common symptom of a headache is pain, including:

  • Neck pain
  • Sinus pressure
  • Muscle tension
  • Visual “aura” or disturbance
  • One-sided pain in the head
  • Upset stomach

Headache pain can often feel like your head is pounding, throbbing, or in a vice.

You should call 911 if you have a sudden, severe headache with weakness on one side of your body or an inability to speak coherently. You could be having a stroke.

Headache Causes

There are four types of headaches:

  • Tension
  • Traction
  • Inflammatory
  • Vascular

Tension is the most common and is often caused by stress. During a tension headache, muscles tighten in your face, jaw, and neck.

Other causes of headache are:

  • Sinus infection (traction headache)
  • Infection such as meningitis (inflammatory headache)
  • High blood pressure (vascular headache)
  • Bleeding in the brain (cerebral hemorrhage)
  • Elevated spinal fluid pressure

Migraines are recurring headache, the cause of which is still unknown.

Headache Treatment at Dignity Health Southern California

Treatment for a headache depends on the type, but the goal is still the same: to relieve pain and treat the underlying cause. Dignity Health doctors may recommend the following headache treatment:

  • Medications
  • Stress reduction
  • Lifestyle changes

You may have a genetic predisposition to headaches because of your family history. If you have migraines or another type of recurring headache, talk with your doctor. For most people, relieving stress through deep breathing and exercise is helpful.

As part of our neurology services, Dignity Health doctors diagnose, treat, and manage headaches in Southern California.