October marked the launching of the The Global Year Against Headache, bringing global attention to one of the most common, painful and disabling conditions affecting people throughout their lives.

Sponsored by the International Association for the Study of Pain, and working in close cooperation with the International Headache Society, the 12-month campaign focuses on education for health care professional and government leaders as well as public awareness.

A spokesman for the International Association for the Study of Pain Headache said disorders are the most prevalent of the neurological conditions and among the most frequent of medical complaints seen in general practice.

They take many forms, including migraine, tension-type headache, trigemino-autonomic cephalalgia (cluster headache), primary stabbing headache, primary sex headache, or rarer conditions such as trigeminal neuralgia or persistent idiopathic facial pain.

Half of the general population experience headache during any given year, and more than 90 per cent report a lifetime history of head pain.

The most severely disabled three per cent experience a headache such as chronic migraine and chronic tension-type headache at least 15 days per month.

Headache disorders contribute to a considerable loss of work time and productivity, remarked the spokesman.