Table of Contents
Introduction
Headache treatment is necessary to function daily. Chronic headaches are one of the common treatments at the office. This video, 8 Questions: “About Chronic Headaches” answers common questions regarding chronic headaches. Watch now.
As a therapist one of the most common complaints is headaches. Our specialty at the clinic is treating pain caused by soft tissue tightness. At times the soft tissues, such as the muscles and fascia can be the cause of headaches. If you suffer from chronic headaches this sequence of videos can answer some of your questions. Many new patients who suffer from this condition often express their suspicion that it is muscular in origin.
Can prolonged sitting cause headaches?
It can. If you are at your desk for prolonged periods, you can find yourself slouching. You can also round your shoulders and adopt a head forward position. This position can tighten muscles that can refer pain to the head. A shoulder to ear (shrugged) posture can exacerbate pain. This is because a muscle named the Upper Trapezius becomes tight. The tightness can lead to trigger points, that cause pain towards the temple of the head.
The head forward position shortens muscles that draw the head and neck forward leading to trigger point formation. These trigger points can lead to pain to the base of the skull, above the ear and into the face.
Over time if one leaves stretching to the side, you are going to need headache treatment. Also, you will need to correct the bad posture to ease the discomfort over time.
Can I have other symptoms along with the headaches?
Yes. In fact there is one muscle, Sternocleidomastoid, that can cause strange symptoms. This is along with the headaches. Trigger points in this muscle, can give you a feeling of dizziness and also plugging sensation in the ear. This is along with head and face pain.
If you have facial pain/headaches along with these symptoms, it can be this muscle. However, you do want to double check with your doctor before making assumptions.
Typically, patients who encounter this, have gone and gotten medical tests and have been found to be negative. By process of elimination I will check this muscle and treat it. This is of course, after I have completed investigating the patient’s case.
For more answers to common questions regarding chronic headaches, please watch the video.
Headache Treatment
What can a headache treatment look like? Typically the patient has had this chronic issue for a while. This can be for weeks to literally months and even years. The longer the issue the tighter the muscles and fascia will become.
Headache treatment at the office implores deep tissue massage and techniques to the fascia. The deep tissue massage frees up stubborn, tight muscles. It can also access deeper layers that can be problematic. Lighter massage will miss the mark in regards to targeted areas.
The techniques to the fascia can target the pectoral, neck and upper back/shoulders/mid-back area.
The person who has had tightness for a long time will find these treatments painful to excruciating. This can also be magnified by the treatment duration.
As the treatment progresses, the tissues loosen. Eventually, the patient generally feels more relaxed. Their symptoms tend to ease.
Headache treatments, specifically with deep tissue massage and techniques to the fascia is recommended. This is particularly if the case is long standing and stubborn.
Have you been considering deep tissue massage? Contact is and we can discuss what we can do for your case.
More Resources:
Learn more about how fascia can be the root of headaches here. Do you have headaches to the back of the head? Here is one of our classic videos on our youtube channel that explains this issue.
