Headaches are incredibly common, and can be disruptive to your everyday life. They can present in many different ways, with some people having sharp aches or dull pains. They can be accompanied by various other symptoms ranging from noise and light sensitivity, nausea or general joint ache around the neck and shoulders to neck movement restriction. But, while the symptoms of a headache can vary from person to person, there is a very common factor that contributes to most headaches. 80% of headaches have the neck as a contributing factor to the pain. While headaches can be seen as a common annoyance that everybody has to deal with, you can in most cases, treat the necks contribution to headaches through Physiotherapy.
How Can Physiotherapy Help With Your Headaches?
Under the care of our experienced physios here at Turramurra Sports & Spinal Physiotherapy, our expert physiotherapy treatment can lead to fast and long lasting relief from headaches. Our expert assessment techniques allow us to assess any physiological issues in your upper three cervical joints that have been proven to cause cervicogenic headache. By identifying any issues at these levels, we are able to see if there is a potential contribution from your neck that can contribute to your headache. Joint restriction and muscle spasm in this area will cause an increase in the frequency of nerves firing into the brainstem via the Vagus nerve. This may lead to headaches as this particular area of the brainstem sends messages from the face, head and the inner ear, ultimately meaning that if this area becomes overstimulated, you can almost guarantee that a headache will follow (this can even be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, visual disturbance, balance issues, unsteady gait, tinnitus and sensitivity to sound because of the involvement of the Vagus nerve. This nerve supplies your sinuses, inner ear, jaw joint (TMJ), occular muscles and half of your head).
What Is Involved in the Treatment for Headaches?
Depending on the underlying issue at hand, there could be many various solutions that our physios will work with you to look into and ultimately correct. For example, a stiff neck joint could possibly have to be loosened via joint mobilisation or a gentle and focused joint manipulation technique. Tight or overactive muscles may require stretching, massage, dry needling, or other relaxation techniques. Weak muscles may require specific strengthening exercises. This may include your postural and neck muscles. Ultimately, any physiotherapy programme that we put together for you will be personalised and tailored to your own specific needs, allowing us to help you get back to your usual self, able to continue daily life without the stress that can be caused by perpetual headaches. Our treatments are effective and thorough, and our team are very experienced and keep up to date with the latest evidence in the field of headache and migraines. You can book your Headache Assessment appointment with us by calling 02 9144 1510 or by booking online. If you are not sure if we can help, call us for a FREE phone consultation to discuss if our physios can help you.
