When we think of headaches, we usually think of not drinking enough water that day or coming down with a head cold. But the reality is that most headaches are caused by poor postural habits. Prolonged time at the desk in front of the computer or laptop, use of mobile phones or excessive time in the car can lead to that dull-aching, sometimes sharp pain, which radiates from the neck up to the front of the forehead and around the head. These types or headaches are commonly referred to as tension-type headaches or cervicogenic headaches. Chiropractors can help with type of headache treatment. 

To give some context into how common headaches are, a major study in 2016 examined the prevalence of headache disorders worldwide and found that: 

• 1.89 billion people had a tension type headache in the previous 12 months (1)
• 7 million people in Australia suffer from headaches (1)
• Headache disorders are collectively the third cause of disability in people under 50 (1)

As previously mentioned, poor posture is a major contributor to headaches. As most of us would know, when we sit at a desk, working on the computer for long periods of time, there is a tendency to slouch, roll our shoulders forward and protrude our head forwards. This all contributes to abnormal loading patterns in the back, shoulders, and neck, which places increased mechanical stress and strain on the spine and its surrounding muscles. If we then extrapolate that over the hours, days and weeks spent at the computer, this repetitive stress and strain leads to the tightening of the muscles in the neck and shoulders. Therefore the tight/aching/sharp pain you feel in and around your head. 

As chiropractors we can help with headache treatment, our role is to identify the areas of tightness in your muscles and restrictions in your joints, which may be contributing to the headaches. Once this has been identified, to alleviate the headaches, we may use a combination of headache treatment methods to help, including:

• Joint manipulation
• Joint mobilisations
• Muscle release techniques
• Exercise prescription (conditioning, stretching, mobility)
• Cupping therapy
• Dry needling

Furthermore, to complement the manual therapy chiropractors also provide advice on exercises programming, ergonomics and lifestyle advice to help reduce the likelihood of your headaches returning. So, next time you feel a headache coming on, consider making an appointment with our chiropractors at Impulse Chiropractic to get your headache treatment and spine assessed! 

To learn more about headaches, visit our headache page!