Headaches and what can we do

Headaches?

Headaches are becoming increasingly prevalent in society due to a variety of reasons, wind is a lovely one here, and they can be a real pain in the brain!

Understanding your headache is an important step to reducing their effect on your daily life, knowledge is always power! Migraines are a well-known type of headache, but it is also a term that is often used inaccurately. There are other, lesser-known types of headaches which may better fit the nature of your symptoms….

Tension headaches can be attributed to pain arising from a musculoskeletal origin like the neck, jaw or shoulder. Like migraines, tension headaches can cause nausea, vomiting and light/sound sensitivity. This can make it difficult to differentiate between these two types of headaches.

Tension headaches typically start in the neck and can move to affect other regions of the head or face. These headaches can be aggravated by neck movement and may be associated with symptoms of neck stiffness and diffuse shoulder/arm pain.

Manual therapy has the potential to provide relief from tension headaches. The practitioner can assess for any tension or restriction in your tissues and joints which may be manifesting these headaches. Further assessment of your daily postures and activities could offer further relief through providing context of how the tension in your tissues arose. The practitioner can also provide exercises as well as lifestyle advice. This along side the manual treatment can help reduce the severity of your headaches and act as a preventative measure to future onsets.

Self-help tips-

- Hydration

Drink 2 litres of water a day

- Work breaks

If you have a desk-based job, make sure get up from your desk at least once every 45

minutes.

- Sleep

Aim to get 6-8 hours of sleep a night and stop looking at screens 45 minutes before you go

to bed.

- Heat

Applying a hot water bottle to your neck/shoulder/back or having a warm shower can help

relax your muscles and reduce your headaches.