Do you suffer from headaches?
Headache is one of the top ten causes of disability worldwide affecting daily functioning, productivity and quality of life.
Are you a part of this affected population?
Common types:
– Cervicogenic- arising from facet joint dysfunction, commonly occurring on one side (‘side-locked’) combined with neck pain
– Sinus- can be a response to allergies, occurs in a butterfly pattern on the face
– Tension- has a sensation of tightness or pressing around the head
– Cluster- generally manifests around one eye
– Occipital neuralgia- arising from occipital nerve irritation near the base of the skull
Some headaches may also arise from underlying pathological conditions. Tension-type headache is one of the most common types and can
occur from the muscular structures surrounding the neck, particularly the pericranial muscle groups which surround the head
(the upper trapezius muscle is in this group).
Lifestyle factors often contribute to the severity of a headache. You may notice, if you experience an injury whilst in a stressed state
it will feel more severe than if you were to experience the injury in a relaxed state. This is because of the nervous systems role in pain
regulation. If your nervous system is in a heightened and stimulated state it is easier to reach a threshold to experience pain. During a
headache or more commonly a migraine, other symptoms may be experienced due to environmental factors. For example, sensitivity to light,
sensitivity to sound, and possibly nausea in association.
Adapting lifestyle factors may decrease headache symptoms:
– Stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest); practicing diaphragmatic (deep) breathing, removing stressful factors
(be it replacing loud music with slower tempo music or meal prepping in advance)
– Identify potential headache triggers such as certain foods and when they’re
consumed
– Manual therapy and exercise therapy can modulate sensitivity surrounding headache origin, and indirectly effect the trigeminocervical nucleus
which contains sensory nerve fibres relaying messages from the upper cervical spinal nerve roots.
Identifying causative factors is optimal in the management of headache and can be quite individual. Consult with our practitioners
to receive treatment and learn more about the management of your headaches.
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