How can physios help with headaches?
Headaches are one of the most common health conditions in Australia. It is most likely that you have experience headaches at some point of your life. Headaches can be one of the most debilitating health conditions when it becomes persistent in your daily activities.
Did you know? Approximately 15% of us resort in some pain-relief medication for our headaches. We see a lot of patients that come in our clinic complaining about neck pain and headaches. They are often related! We treat the neck, we treat the headache!
You might be asking what is the exact cause of the headache? There are many factors that can cause headaches which include: stress, diet, jaw problems, medication, and musculoskeletal issues. One of the most common causes of headaches is a dysfunction in the upper spine (also known as cervicogenic headaches). Research has shown up to 70% of headache sufferers report neck pain! Our spine is filled with nerve roots to our brain and when there is a neck dysfunction then the nerves send signals to our brain hinting that it is injured. This referred pain can present as headache symptoms.
Do you ever feel your headaches are like a tight band squeezing around your head? Or do you feel like the headache is just localised in one area near the eye? Maybe, you have headaches but also nausea and sensitivity to bright lights? These are all popular ways people describe headaches. You may be wondering why do the symptoms vary extensively between each person? This is because there are many different types of headaches. Here are 3 the most common categories of headaches:
1. Cervicogenic headaches: This headache is reported as a dull ache on the forehead that wraps around to the back of the head. Most of the time this headache is one sided. This is often caused by neck issues.
2. Tension type headaches: This type of headache feels like a band squeezing around your forehead. This is caused by muscular tension from emotional and physical stress.
3. Migraines: This type of headache is often described as pounding and pulsing sensation around the forehead. Migraines can be exacerbated loud sounds and bright lights. The exact cause of Migraines are not fully understood, researchers have theorized that it could an underlying central nervous system or nerve pathway issue.
At Myphysio, our physiotherapists are experts at diagnosing and treating neck related issues. A comprehensive assessment is performed to identify the underlying cause of your headache. Afterwards, we provide manual therapy to help relief the symptoms then provide you with the appropriate rehab program to help fix your headaches.
Don’t let headaches stop you from living your life, book an appointment with our friendly physiotherapist today. You can also check out our Instagram page where we provide advice and tips on how to manage your headaches and other health conditions.
References:
Nilsson, N. (1995). The prevalence of cervicogenic headache in a random population sample of 20-‐59 year olds. Spine (Philadelphia, Pa. 1976), 20(17), 1884-1888.
Better Health Channel (online). Headache [accessed 21 Nov 2021]. Available from: https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/headache
Healthline (online). What Causes Migraine and Chronic Migraine? [accessed 21 Nov 2021]. Available from: https://www.healthline.com/health/migraine/causes-of-chronic-migraine