You’re Giving Me a Headache! No, Wait, it’s a Migraine!
Do you suffer with Hẻάḋȁḉĥёs or Migraines? …
Primary Headaches, Secondary Headaches, Migraines, Tension Headaches, Cluster Headaches, Medication Headaches, Hormone Headaches, TMJ Headaches, Stabbing Headaches, Sinus Headaches, Whiplash Headaches……here at Pea Green Physio we get them all!
Feeling like you’re being hit over the head with a hammer?
There are hundreds of types of headaches and everyone will present with different signs and symptoms. Pulsating, throbbing, tightening, sensitivity to light and/or sound, nausea and visual disturbances, possibly the sensation of an aura, the list goes on!
What causes them?
You’ll get the normal excuses from your GP or consultant, you had too much cheese, chocolate or wine, you’re stressed, you didn’t get enough sleep or you’re dehydrated… Try these medications and it may go away… but it doesn’t.
Medical practitioners and neurologists tend to be unaware that there may be a musculoskeletal problem causing your headaches or that physiotherapy might be able to help if it’s a benign chronic headache (> 3 months).
At pea green we are trained in a variety of ways to help treat headaches and migraines. One treatment in particular is the Dean Watson Approach, after a holistic examination we can determine areas of mechanical dysfunction (most commonly the thoracic spine or middle of the back and the cervical spine the neck – sound familiar if you work at a desk!!!). Culprits often include, segmental spinal stiffness, muscular tightness and over development in some areas with weakness in other key areas and yes poor posture will play a part.
Once we have determined the cause and treated other affecting areas we can use Deans technique to desensitise the brain stem and Tri-Geminal Central Nuclei (TGCN – the science bit). The diagnosis involves the reproduction of symptoms, just for a few seconds and then the pain will begin to disappear. If conclusive the treatment then remains the same with the use of sustained mechanical positions and pressures to repetitively reproduce the declining headache symptoms.
Repetition, repetition, repetition is then the key to maintaining the desensitisation and improved position and function of the spine. We’ll give you exercises to keep this going and tips on how to potentially manage future flare ups at home.
You can STOP the ‘my head is in a vice’ feeling right NOW!
We can let you know in our first session whether this type of treatment may be able to help you or not. So the next time your head feels like it might explode, try our 20 minute MOT for£25 and see if we might be able to cure your long standing “you’ll just have to learn how to cope with it” headache.
Ben Wallis
Specialist MSk Physiotherapist
Pea Green Physio