Functional Neurology: Understanding Brain Fog and Head Pain

The first approach towards characterizing brain fog associated with head pain is to make sure it’s not caused by a secondary headache or a headache with an identifiable cause. Several types of head pain are more severe than others, such as giant cell arteritis or inflammation of the arteries that run along the temples, raised blood pressure or hypertension, brain hemorrhage, brain infections like encephalitis, increased pressure in the fluid of the brain or raised intracranial pressure, and brain tumors. Less severe types of head pain include carbon monoxide poisoning, taking too many painkillers or medication-overuse headache, disorders of the joints of the jaw or temporomandibular joint disorders, dental problems, and sinus infections or sinusitis. Below, we will discuss several of the most common causes of brain fog associated with head pain.

Causes of Brain Fog and Head Pain

Researchers and healthcare professionals have offered their own hypotheses for why brain fog occurs with head pain, based on their own knowledge and experiences. They believe that brain fog and head pain occur due to epilepsy, overactive parathyroid glands or hyperparathyroidism, overactive thyroid gland or thyrotoxicosis, and brain circulation problems. Researchers and healthcare professionals also suggest it could be due to a vitamin B12 deficiency. Fortunately, the utilization of CT and MRI brain scans, heart tracing, EEG and blood tests, can be utilized to rule out many of these health issues.

Moreover, several health issues require specific tests and evaluations. These include tests for lupus or an inflammatory disorder, magnesium deficiency, zinc deficiency, Lyme disease or an infection resulting from a tick bite, and postural tachycardia syndrome or an increase in heart rate on standing. Many researchers and healthcare professionals also recommend a detailed examination and investigation of a misalignment or subluxation of the neck or cervical spine.  

If all these tests and evaluations return as normal, then the next approach towards characterizing brain fog associated with head pain is to make sure it’s not caused by a primary headache or a headache without an underlying secondary cause. Primary headaches are diagnosed in 9 out of 10 cases of head pain and pressure. The most common types of primary headaches include tension-type headache, migraine, and daily persistent headache. Diagnosis depends on the pattern of symptoms as well as examinations and investigations to rule out underlying causes. Although there are specific treatment options for several primary headaches like migraines, in many instances, treatment is frequently a matter of trial and error.  

Furthermore, despite the best efforts of researchers and healthcare professionals as well as comprehensive examinations and investigations, many people who suffer from brain fog associated with head pain and pressure are still left without any explanation for their symptoms. Researchers and healthcare professionals have a name even for this type of brain fog-related head pain known as medically unexplained symptoms or MUS. This ultimately means exactly what reads as: no one is denying that the person has the symptoms, but doctors have been unable to find a medical condition to explain them.  

Several people with MUS undoubtedly do have stress, anxiety, and even depression whether as a result of the symptoms or as a cause of the symptoms. Researchers and healthcare professionals recommend continuing to pursue psychological support if you have brain fog and head pain, as this may help to relieve a potential cause as well as helping to cope with the symptoms. Cognitive-behavioral therapy would be ideal for this purpose, as would mindful awareness, a technique that would arm people with a way of deflecting their mind away from their troubling symptoms, improving overall well-being.  

Brain fog can make people feel as if they’re not able to focus or concentrate accordingly and it’s commonly accompanied by head pain, fatigue and even vision problems. While brain fog is a symptom rather than a single health issue, it can be a cause or be caused by other underlying health issues. Head pain and pressure can have a variety of symptoms on its own but head pain-related brain fog has a whole different variety of symptoms. Understanding brain fog associated with head pain and pressure as well as what you can do about the symptoms can help manage brain fog symptoms and promote overall brain health and wellness. – Dr. Alex Jimenez D.C., C.C.S.T. Insight

Neurotransmitter Assessment Form

The following Neurotransmitter Assessment Form can be filled out and presented to Dr. Alex Jimenez. Symptoms listed on this form are not intended to be utilized as a diagnosis of any type of disease, condition, or any other type of health issue.  

In honor of Governor Abbott’s proclamation, October is Chiropractic Health Month. Learn more about the proposal.  

How often do you feel you have something that must be done? How often do you have difficulty concentrating before eating? Do you suffer from headaches and/or migraines? Head pain is commonly characterized by a variety of symptoms, including pain and discomfort, photophobia or light sensitivity, dizziness, lethargy, and mood changes. However, one of the most common symptoms of head pain is brain fog, which also causes its own variety of symptoms. In the following article, we will discuss brain fog associated with head pain and pressure as well as the common cause of brain fog and headache/migraine.  

The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal and nervous health issues or functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We use functional health protocols to treat injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system. To further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .  

Curated by Dr. Alex Jimenez  

Additional Topic Discussion: Chronic Pain

Sudden pain is a natural response of the nervous system which helps to demonstrate possible injury. By way of instance, pain signals travel from an injured region through the nerves and spinal cord to the brain. Pain is generally less severe as the injury heals, however, chronic pain is different than the average type of pain. With chronic pain, the human body will continue sending pain signals to the brain, regardless if the injury has healed. Chronic pain can last for several weeks to even several years. Chronic pain can tremendously affect a patient’s mobility and it can reduce flexibility, strength, and endurance.

Neural Zoomer Plus for Neurological Disease

Dr. Alex Jimenez utilizes a series of tests to help evaluate neurological diseases. The Neural Zoomer^TM Plus is an array of neurological autoantibodies which offers specific antibody-to-antigen recognition. The Vibrant Neural Zoomer^TM Plus is designed to assess an individual’s reactivity to 48 neurological antigens with connections to a variety of neurologically related diseases. The Vibrant Neural Zoomer^TM Plus aims to reduce neurological conditions by empowering patients and physicians with a vital resource for early risk detection and an enhanced focus on personalized primary prevention.  

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