Need Help Finding Relief From Persistent Headaches?

Physical therapists can show you the best ways to reduce your pain!

If stress-related headaches are happening so frequently that they are impacting your daily life, it’s time to start thinking about physical therapy for relief. Stress-related headaches, also called tension headaches, are the most common type of headache that impacts people.

While they are not as serious as migraines, tension headaches are a sign that something in your body is “off.” A physical therapist can work with you to determine the cause and eliminate stress-related headaches for good.

Causes of headaches

One of the most common causes of stress-related headaches is stress, which is right there in the term. When the muscles in the neck or scalp tense up and contract, it causes a headache.

Depression and anxiety are two emotions that are similar to stress and can cause headaches. Furthermore, your stress-related headaches could have a physical reason. Headaches can be caused by an accident or damage to the neck or back. Two additional possible causes are poor posture and arthritis.

Your physical therapist can figure out the true source of your headaches, so it’s best to have your condition accessed by them before assuming you know exactly what is causing your problem!

How can a physical therapist help with my headaches?

The ultimate goal of your physical therapy regimen will be to eliminate your stress-related headaches. However, in addition to relief, you will gain additional benefits that will likely improve your overall quality of life:

• Neck tension relief. You will have better range of motion in your neck and reduced tension, thanks to manual physical therapy techniques applied to the muscles there.
• Increased strength: Your therapist will teach you exercises to strengthen your neck and upper back, which will lead to improved posture. With better posture, you will be able to stand and sit longer without experiencing discomfort.
• Improved posture. Bad posture is really one of the leading causes of stress-related headaches. If you don’t enjoy good posture throughout the day, it is likely to lead to more generalized aches and pains, as well as the muscle tension that contributes to stress-related headaches.

The many benefits of physical therapy

In general, you can expect stretching and strength training to be part of your treatment. Other options that your physical therapist might employ can include:

• McKenzie therapies
• Cervical traction
• Body mobilization
• Hot and cold compressions
• Soft tissue mobilization

The treatment you recieve will depend in part on the diagnosis. For example, one course of treatment that would work for correcting your posture and strengthening the neck muscles might not be appropriate if your headaches are the result of a past injury.

Aside from your physical therapy sessions at the clinic, your therapist will also recommend exercises, stretches and lifestyle changes that you can make at home, which will all contribute to eliminating your pain.

If your headache is cervinogenic in nature, we may need to work on your neck. For instance:

• Chiropractic adjustment can correct skeletal misalignment issues that place your neck muscles under unnatural strain. These adjustments can also help to reduce cluster headache attacks.
• Laser therapy and massage therapy can both relax tight neck tissues and speed recovery to injured muscles.
• Exercises that strengthen and loosen your neck muscles can help to ease the stresses that set off your headaches.
• Our physical therapist can help you identify other migraine triggers and suggest strategies for avoiding them in your everyday life.
• If your migraines are the result of a recent concussion, a carefully-administered course of physical therapy can actually help you recuperate from that concussion more quickly.
• Corrective exercises and postural/ergonomic changes can help you steer clear of “text neck” and other occupational headache triggers.

Diagnosing headaches with PT

Your therapist will work with you to diagnose your headaches before beginning physical therapy treatments. The therapist will need to know about your medical history. If you had a neck, back, or jaw injury years ago, it’s possible that it’s still causing headaches now. The position of your pain, such as your face, back of your neck, or forehead, might also aid in determining the source.

During the diagnosing process, your physical therapist will most likely administer various tests to you. Your posture, for example, will be assessed as you participate in a variety of activities. The range of motion in your neck and shoulders, as well as the strength of your muscles, will be tested. Your therapist may use manual treatment to assess the mobility of your neck joints.

Once the cause of your stress-related headaches is determined, a customized course of physical therapy can be prescribed to treat them.

Find relief for your stress-related headaches today

What are you waiting for? Stress-related headaches can be a thing of the past for you, after working with a physical therapist to correct the problem. Contact Lake County Physical Therapy today to schedule your first appointment.

Written By

Zenobia Tantra

PT, DPT, CAPP-PF, CCI, CFeMT

Zenobia is one of the founding members of the company. She specializes in Pelvic Floor Rehab and is one of the few CAPP certified pelvic floor therapists in the country.