Just about all of us have felt a tension headache at some point in our lives. But what is a tension headache and where does it come from?
Hi, I’m Scott, stick around and I’ll answer these questions about tension headaches.
Tension headaches can come from a few different sources, but as the name suggests it usually comes from tension in the muscles in the head, neck and shoulders. It can feel like an ache the radiates into the temples and neck. The reason why the tension can be felt in the head rather than the muscles themselves is due to what’s called a trigger point, which you might know as a knot. Muscles all have different referral patterns that are individual to each muscle. One muscle such as your upper traps has trigger points that when pressed can be felt radiating into the back of the neck and over the ears.
So why do you get these trigger points? Trigger points happen naturally from muscle use, but muscles fatigue faster when used incorrectly, such as leaning over, slouching and other poor postures or movements. When the muscles fatigue symptoms can be exaggerated which brings on a headache. You’ve probably noticed that the first thing you reach for when a headache comes on is your neck or upper back!
Through massage and other manual therapies, we release the trigger points, but to prevent muscles from fatiguing it’s important to exercise those muscles and keep them strong so you can last longer at the desk.
If you need some muscles released due to a tension headache, please give us a call and we can do it for you! We have remedial massage therapists available at Miami Physio Monday to Saturday and at Lakelands Physio Wednesday to Friday.
