Physio for Headaches.
Headaches are an extremely common complaint, but having headaches daily or even a few times a week isn’t actually normal. If you have had them for as long as you can remember, physiotherapy can help! And it might be something you haven’t thought of (or tried) yet!
Photo: Sunny Side Physio
What causes headaches?
Headaches are caused by many different factors, and rarely is it just one thing. We like to think of headaches like a cup (see our diagram). Once that cup overflows, you get a headache.
The things that can fill up your cup (and consequently cause headaches) may include:
Dehydration
Hormones
Stress and tension
Neck stiffness and tightness
Trigger points in your muscles, especially your traps
Overhead gym work that is too heavy/over activation of traps
Clenching your jaw or grinding your teeth
Eye problems
Medications
Poor posture
Big list of things hey! Well, you’re probably thinking… how can physio help with that?
Physiotherapy treatment
Going back to the cup analogy above, we often find that a large portion of the cup is filled by your neck and shoulders being tight, stiff and sore. Therefore, physio can help immensely, as we use hands-on treatment, cupping and dry needling to address the stiffness, tightness and trigger points that occur in your neck and shoulders.
As a result, the volume of your cup drops and it’s less likely to overflow as we’ve taken the pain, stiffness and trigger points out of the equation!
How else can physio help?
Not only do we address what’s going on in your neck and shoulders, we also take a look at other things in your life that may be contributing to your headaches. These include:
Your work setup (especially if you work from home on some days)
Your exercise habits and technique (often the upper traps are the main culprits here!)
The way you wear your baby in a carrier or feeding positions
How you carry your children
Your posture and how long you sit in prolonged positions
We then provide you with self-management tips and tricks that you can easily do at home. Not only do these prolong the relief you get between physio visits, but you’re also learning how to manage them yourself long term. This means you won’t need to go to the physio forever!
Lastly, we give you simple strength and mobility exercises so that the headaches don’t come back once you stop coming to the physio. We are all about getting to the underlying cause of your headaches and prevention in the future.
Thanks for reading!
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If you need some help and guidance, feel free to book online to come and see us! We look forward to helping you reduce your headaches at Sunny Side!