Did You Know that Physiotherapy Can Help with Headache Management?

Most people experience headaches at some time or the other, but it’s not something to be majorly concerned about as the headache is brief and recedes with a basic massage, a shower or some mild pain medication. But some people are more affected than others and suffer from chronic headaches or migraines and that can be problematic.

These severe headaches can throw their routines out of gear and impact other aspects of their lives as well. Fortunately, it is possible to alleviate these headaches using expert physiotherapy treatment. Headaches are a very common malady and many people suffer from them because of the stresses and strains that are integral to the fast-paced lives we lead today. On average one in 9 people in Australia are affected by migraines at some of the other time in their lives and women are more likely to suffer from migraines than men.

Regardless of whether the person suffers from a tension headache or a chronic migraine headache, effective headache management is a lot about diagnosing them accurately. The very first aspect is to determine if the upper neck muscles and joints are contributing to the headache the person is experiencing. There is a significant amount of research that indicates the upper neck may have an important role in both a migraine as well as tension headaches.

Establishing the clinical history

Treating a headache via physiotherapy treatment is done very methodically. The sufferer’s clinical history will be established. This becomes the first step in drawing a diagnosis. Different headaches behave differently and there are said to be 200 different kinds of headache. This makes it crucial to check every minor detail related to the person’s headache. This includes things such as:

• The points at which the headache is experienced: some people feel the pain is more pronounced in the temple areas, while others feel it is localised around the eyebrows or some other part of the face
• The severity of the headache
• Triggers such as stress or exercise
• Sensitivity to noise or light
• Reaction to certain foods

How physiotherapy can help

Once the physiotherapist has accurately confirmed that your neck muscles have a role to play in your migraine attacks or headache, a proper treatment plan will be devised. We at Insync Physiotherapy adopt a very methodical approach to our work and the plan that we develop will be in line with your personal and professional commitments. We strongly believe that you need to be aware of what is involved in the treatment and how it can help alleviate your migraine or headache. Most people aren’t sure how they can reduce their headache’s severity or how to respond to its symptoms. This knowledge can go a long way in reducing the negative impact that severe headaches often cause. The treatment involves massaging strained and tightened neck muscles and all of this is done without manipulating or cracking the neck.

The massage therapy is applied only to the soft muscle tissue that generally contributes to the pain. Postural muscle training and exercise therapy also help in managing the symptoms. The treatment approach we adopt focuses on curing the symptoms and treating the root of the problem to alleviate the pain and prevent recurrence of the problem,

We at Insync Physiotherapy have skilled and experienced physiotherapists on board and can provide excellent treatments and care. For any more information on the different types of services we provide, feel free to contact us on 02 9569 5145. You can also send us your queries via this online form.

Thanks for reading,
Insync Physiotherapy Team
02 9569 5145