What Are the Causes of Headaches & Stomach Aches?

Headaches and stomach aches (abdominal pain) are two of the most common health complaints. Each of these conditions has a wide array of potential underlying causes. Some causes are harmless, others can be life-threatening.

The Facts

• The U.S. National Library of Medicine defines a headache as discomfort or pain located in the scalp, head or neck. Abdominal pain occurs in the area between the groin and the chest, commonly called the stomach or belly.

Headaches

• Most headaches result from muscular tension in the scalp, neck, jaws or shoulders. Underlying causes for this tension may include anxiety, depression, overworking, stress, skipping meals, lack of sleep and drug or alcohol use.

Additional Headache Causes

• Other potential causes of headaches include sinus inflammation, abnormal brain activity (migraines), inflammation of arteries in the head (temporal arteritis), strokes, brain infections, aneurysms and tumors.

General Abdominal Pain

• The Mayo Clinic cites potential causes of general abdominal pain that include intestinal obstructions, stomach flu, abdominal injury, urinary tract infection, appendicitis, Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, and diverticulosis.

Localized Abdominal Pain

• Potential causes of localized abdominal pain include pelvic inflammatory disease, ovarian cysts, ectopic pregnancy, bladder inflammation, gallstones, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), ulcers, kidney infection and inguinal hernias, according to the Mayo Clinic.