CAN MUSCLE STRENGTH IMBALANCE CAUSE HEADACHE? 5 SIMPLE EXERCISES TO RESOLVE TENSION HEADACHE.

 

Ever had a persistent headache when you wake up without even starting your day even while you are in your 20's or 30's? The pain persists or may be temporarily relieved by the use of pain killers but then reappears. Ever thought the reason behind it? How many of you guys have worked to get rid of it?

Tension Headache:

Tension headache is a common type of headache found in 2 of 3 men in the US, and is more commonly found in women than men. It is caused by stiffness in neck and head muscles namely;

• Suboccipital muscle
• Trapezius muscle
• Levator scapulae
• Sternocleidomastoid muscle
• Temporalis muscle
• Superior oblique
• Masseter muscle

AREAS OF PAIN:

The particular areas of pain in tension headache involves:

• Upper back
• neck
• base of head
• ears
• jaws
• across the forehead (above the eyes)

Risk Factors and Causes:

Some of the risk factors that are involved in leading cause of Tension headache are as follows:

• Depression, stress and anxiety, causing muscles to stiffen by continuous increase in tone of head and neck muscles
• teeth clenching and grinding, causing masseter muscle to stiffen.
• arthritis in the neck, causing the muscles to stiffen and and cause inflammatory changes in the region thus causing pain
• Use of hard and high pillows, causing the muscles to spasm and thus cause pain 
• incorrect posture, forward head posture, causing the upper back and head muscles imbalance and thus causing pain
• Dehydration
• TMJ disorders
• spine misalignment, causing muscle length and strength imbalance
• Lack of sleep, causing muscle fatigue and thus pain
• overexertion or overuse

ROLE OF PHYSICAL THERAPY AND 5 EASY EXERCISES TO RESOLVE IT:

Physical therapy plays an important role in resolving all sorts of Musculoskeletal abnormalities and disorders. Tension headache can be resolved by physiotherapy within 4 weeks permanently by adopting the following simple and easy to follow steps.

• USING HOT OR COLD PACKS:

It plays a role in subsiding underlying inflammation, spasm and stiffness for a short period of time.

Use it thrice a day for 20-30 minutes prior to therapy exercises enlisted below later in the article.

• APPLY STRETCHING TECHNIQUES ON UPPER BACK AND NECK MUSCLES:

Stretching plays a major role in maintaining normal length of the muscles of the body. As in case of tension Headache the muscles are stiff and thus needed to be stretched to return to their normal lengths.

Apply stretch atleast 3 times a day and a stretch must last for 30 seconds. (Ask a professional physiotherapist to guide you regarding this)

• EXERCISES FOR TENSION HEADACHE:

1. Neck isometric exercises:
   
   
   
2. Resisted Shoulder Abduction
3. Thoracic extension
4. Scapular squeeze
5. Head lifts in spine and side lying