Managing Headaches

The most common type of headaches are caused by problems in the cervical spine, known as cervicogenic headaches. A cervicogenic headache is a pain that is developed in the neck, however, a person feels the pain in their head.

Cervicogenic headaches are secondary headaches. Secondary headaches are those caused by an underlying condition, such as neck injuries, infections, or severe high blood pressure.

For these types of headaches, physiotherapy treatment is used to help increase the cervical range of motion and decrease neck muscle tightness can often help alleviate most of the symptoms. Restrictions in segments of the cervical spine may cause pain elsewhere in the head – often manifesting itself as headaches. By treating the problem at the source, physiotherapy is one of the most effective methods of managing these types of headaches.

In addition, education on posture management, and exercises to strengthen weak neck muscles and stretch out tight muscles are given to help reduce the chance of the headaches reoccurring.

Finally, physical modalities, such as TENS and IFC can relieve immediate muscle pain from the neck muscles, providing quick relief of symptoms associated with the neck.

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