Why you have a headache right now — and the surprising way you can prevent the next one

There's a sound so frequent and familiar in my home, I know it like I know the click of a key in the front door. And as the study's lead author, Lars Jacob Stovner, said in a news release, "the prevalence of headache disorders remains high worldwide, and the burden of different types may impact many." Using headache medication, including over the counter products like acetaminophen as well as prescription migraine drugs, "more than a couple of days a week" can cause rebound headaches, according to the Mayo Clinic. Harvard Health describes the problem as a "vicious cycle," one I've fallen prey to, when "the same medications that initially relieve headache pain can themselves trigger subsequent headaches if they are used too often." Concerns about the relationship between overuse and increased pain also made headlines this week when a McGill University study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine warned that "clinical data showed that the use of anti-inflammatory drugs was associated with increased risk of persistent pain, suggesting that anti-inflammatory treatments might have negative effects on pain duration."