Physical therapy can
relieve muscular headaches

By Shane Jansa, MSPT, CSCS, Horizon Physical Therapy

Headaches have many causes and come in many forms. Many people suffer
from tension or posture-related headaches. We prefer to call these muscular headaches or mechanical headaches.

Many people will spend hundreds to thousands of dollars to get the perfect work station. They will buy several different pillows over the course of a year. They will seek out medical treatments and advice and do just about anything. Sometimes a home remedy from Aunt Ethyl might be carried out to the last detail. If you go to bed with a headache and often wake up with a worse headache, there may be a mechanical cause.

When the muscles at the base of the skull become overactive, pain is the end result. Everything from circulation, nerves and the spine can be involved. It is very important for these muscles to relax.

Proper ergonomics at your computer are important, but even more important is the position of your head in relationship to your shoulders during the entire day. If you have ever heard the directive “sit up straight” and felt it was nearly impossible to do, you may be fighting more than the skill to perform the requested activity.

Many headache sufferers have tight muscles in the front and upper part of their shoulders that not only pull their shoulders down and forward, but pull the head forward as well. This forward position causes the muscles at the back of the head to work twice as hard to hold up the 10- to 12- pound head. And if you think these muscles stop working when you sleep, you’re wrong. The extra work during the day creates increased muscle tone, which means these muscles do not know how to relax.

Often headache sufferers need to be treated with a combination of exercises and manual techniques to relax and stretch the muscles that are overworked. Muscles between the shoulder blades need to be retrained and strengthened to hold the shoulders back and prevent the process from reoccurring. Most importantly, the overactive neck muscles need to be
relaxed through manual techniques such as myofascial release, biofeedback and stretching.

The end result is proper positioning of the head above the shoulders and relaxed neck muscles. This will reduce stress on the spine, the nervous system and the vascular system. It might make your ergonomic investment at work well worth it.