Understanding the Cause of Rebound Headaches
September 27th, 2006 (Headache)
What is a rebound headache and how does it occur? Rebound headaches are caused by the overuse or misuse of over-the-counter pain relievers or not following your doctor’s advice regarding appropriate dosage.
This means that you literally “rebound” into another headache after your initial headache. What ends up happening is that when the pain medication wears off, you may experience a withdrawal reaction, which then prompts you to take more medication. This only leads to another headache and the urge to take even more medication, and the roller coaster continues.
Eventually, many people start suffering from chronic daily headaches, more severe pain, and more frequent headaches than ever before. The overuse or misuse of pain relievers seems to interfere with the brain centers that regulate the flow of pain messages to the nerves, intensifying the headache pain.