| Headaches are commonly caused by neck dysfunction, particularly by irritation of the top three neck vertebrae and the muscles in that area. |
Physiotherapists can successfully treat most headaches and show you how to prevent them re-occurring.
Any of following headache symptoms can be treated by Physiotherapy:
| 1. Headache that is one sided or worse on one side of the head. |
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2. Headache associated with neck position, especially if pain is radiating from the neck to the head.
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| 3. Headache brought on by neck movements or sustained neck postures. |
| 4. Poor posture with hunched shoulders and chin-pointed forward posture. |
| 5. Involvement in motor accidents causing whiplash injury of the neck vertebrae. |
Physiotherapists at Balnarring Physiotherapy will assess your headache and determine whether or not the cause is neck related. Some headaches may require further assessment from a medical practitioner.
Treatment for headache at Balnarring Physiotherapy may include:
- Postural correction and exercises.
- Restoration of vertebral alignment.
- Massage.
- Mobilisation.
- Exercises to augment treatment.
- Advice for better work and home postures.
If you want to prevent headache here is some useful advice:
| 1. Watch your posture! It is important to stand or sit tall with your shoulders back and chin tucked in. |
| 2. Allowing your head to be rotated or tilted to one side for lengthy periods can alter the alignment of your upper neck vertebrae, irritating the joints between your vertebrae producing headaches. |
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3. Symmetrical shoulder blade position while on the computer will prevent headaches. When using a mouse (or other tools) for a sustained period a forward shoulder blade position will alter muscular pull on the neck producing a feeling of tight shoulders.
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| 4. Do not sleep on your stomach with your head turned to one side. If your neck is rotated for hours on end the vertebrae can stay rotated and produce headaches. |
| 5. Learn to recognise when you are tense or anxious and relax your shoulders so you do not develop tension headaches. |
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