Headache Treatment
Headaches are a real problem these days. Too much time working on computers or looking at our phones is affecting our posture, creating tension headaches.
But the good news is that there is lots you can do about it.
Why do headaches occur?
Headaches are often caused by overworking tight muscles tugging on the fascia of the skull and creating tension headaches.
Many of the shoulder muscles attach onto the skull, large muscles such as the upper trapezius and smaller muscles that support and stabilise the head.
When these muscles over work, often due to posture, or poor muscle mechanics, they can get tight, leading to pain and stiffness that often results in a headache.
Desk working and the over use of phones can create a forward head posture, where the head sits in front of the shoulders, rather than over them.
This causes the muscles that attach to the head to stretch creating tension and pain.
Treatment
Treatment for headaches is focussed around realigning the head, using hands on massage techniques, we loosen the muscles at the front of the neck that are pulling the head forward.
Often, when we massage these areas, clients will feel a referral pain into the area they feel the headaches.
Once the muscles at the front of the body are loose, we can start to strengthen the muscles at the back of the neck and the upper shoulders, allowing the new posture to become a permanent feature.
As muscles have "memory" the body will try to pull you back into the forward posture, so initially a few regular sessions are needed until the strength work has had a chance to do its magic.
Strengthening
Just loosening the neck and shoulders will only have a temporary affect on the headaches. To get a more permanent solution, you need to strengthen the neck.
At the Reinge Clinic we will always look at your posture, to understand where the headaches are coming from.
Due to our bio mechanical knowledge, the postural assessment will allow us to understand which muscles we need to loosen and which to strengthen.
Muscles take around 6 weeks to strengthen up, and this is why we encourage a loosening session every couple of weeks in this initial period. This ensures your posture doesn't return to it's previous position and the muscles have a better chance of strengthening quickly.
If the headaches are due to posture, they will often subside within the first couple of sessions, but it is important to continue to strengthen for the full 6 weeks to stop the headaches from returning.