Tension Headaches
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Do you suffer with a “foggy head” or frequent nagging headaches over the front, side or back of your head?
These types of headaches are very common and we received numerous referrals from neurologists referring patients for “tension headaches” due to overly tense muscles in the scalp, neck and shoulders (sometimes referred to as “cervicogenic headache). Patients often worry that they have something more serious which is why they present to the neurologist in the first place.
In the vast majority of cases brain scans show nothing untoward and the job then falls on us to start our detective work in identifying the exact “trigger points” (muscle knots in the neck and shoulders) and (facet) joints in the neck likely to be causing the issue.
Muscular trigger points and stiff joints responsible for much of the “referred pain” in tension headaches, do not usually show on any type of scan or x-ray, they are usually best identified and treated by the skilled hands of manual therapist such as we have at Spine Plus. The manual therapy techniques we offer range from acupressure style massage to medical acupuncture and cranial osteopathy.
STEP 1: During your initial consultation we will take a medical case history to investigate your type of headaches, if they are in keeping with "tension type headaches" this will include identifying the exact distribution of your pain and the precise sources. This will include identifying which "trigger points" (knots) in your head neck and shoulder muscles are involved.
STEP 2: Whilst not an exhaustive list, the pain maps below can be used as a guide to identify the source of your pain, we will often show you such maps during your appointment to help identify the precise "trigger points" involved in your tension headaches, which can be different from one person to another.
STEP 3: Precise targetted treatment can then begin, this will usually include "trigger point therapy" such as acupressure style massage +/- dry needling, +/- shockwave therapy or other electrotherapy to reduce the tension and irritation in the affected muscles and nerves. We would expect to start to see significant improvements in your headaches within 1 -3 sessions.
Jump directly to the following sections:
Pain felt on top of the head
May involve tension in muscles at the back of the neck and head such as splenius capitis and occipitalis.
Posterior Headache
Commonly occurs from referred pain in the muscles in the neck and shoulder such as levator scapular, trapezius
Headaches over the side of the Head
These often respond well to precise massage and acupuncture targeting the muscles at the base of the scull such as the suboccipital, semispinalis muscles and upper trapezius muscles.
Anterior of the Headache over the front of the head
Often responds well to acupuncture and massage to the frontalis muscle illustrated below.
Headaches involving pain over the eye
Common trigger points that require precise targeting include those of the occipitalis and upper splenius cervicis muscles.
Enquire about Tension Headaches
Send us a message and our team will be in touch to answer your questions or arrange an appointment.