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Headaches are the worst. They basically are this thing that says, 'Hello 🙋🏻♂️, I'm here to take some joy away from everything you do today 😉'. It can drive you mad, sometimes I don't know what makes it so bad, the actual headache or the frustration that this is even a thing?!!
So what causes a headache? Well, there are many causes such as stress, neck injury, TMJ disorder, being a migraine sufferer, allergies, shoulder injury, impaired posture, sleeping with the wrong pillow, sitting too much during the day, your daily routines, and more...
Check out this article to learn exactly how headaches are triggered:
So how can physical therapy help? Well, here is what our physical therapist in our Wyckoff, NJ clinic says...
First, Get An Evaluation
Instead of taking a shot in the dark with medication or random injection. What we do is a complete examination giving us more accurate information as to the trigger of these headaches. From there, we have several treatment options...
Hands-On Treatment
Regardless of the headache's root cause, your muscles and joints may become very tense as a result. Once identified, even one session with our physical therapist can ease the headache by relaxing the muscles in your neck, jaw, shoulders, and head. This will reduce muscle spasms and pressure on the nerves of the neck which may trigger a headache. Thus reducing the intensity and duration of the headache.
Posture Correction
The way we sit or stand impacts the tension we place on our body’s muscles. Poor posture can squeeze muscles and nerves in the shoulder, chest, and neck area, triggering tension headaches. A specialized physical therapist will evaluate your posture when you sit or stand to identify problem areas. They will show you how to reduce pressure in the problem areas identified and change certain lifestyle choices such as pillows, desks, and techniques used to do things around the house. We find that once unlocking this, you can significantly reduce the frequency of headaches.
Check out this article and learn how to optimize your workspace:
Targeted Strengthening
Our shoulders, neck, and back do a lot of heavy lifting (and light lifting such as simply keeping your head upright)... so it is crucial that they have proper strength and do not get overworked. Having a balanced strong upper body equals fewer, less intense headaches. Here’s an exercise you can do while at your ergonomic workspace to build up that neck strength.
Check out the videos below to initiate postural strengthening!
Improving your flexibility helps us move more freely throughout our day and our neck muscles (which cause headaches) don't have to work as hard. Our neck specialist will provide you with exercises that will help you stretch your upper body to loosen appropriate muscle and tendon groups.
Hope you now understand a little better how physical therapy is used to reduce headaches!
👉🏽If you want answers NOW about getting TMJ relief, Headache Relief, or Neck Pain Relief, feel free to Apply For A FREE Discovery Session. This can be done Virtually or In The Clinic...
👉🏽 Get our FREE Guide with Tips for Quick TMJ Pain & Headache Relief:
If you have further questions regarding this blog post or other tips that can help you to Relieve TMJ Pain, Contact Us at Skyline Physical.
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