Headaches – How to tell when they are serious

More than 10 million people in the UK get headaches regularly, making them one of the most common health complaints.

The most common treatment is to take a pain killer.  In previous blog posts I have explored other treatments including

Most headaches aren’t serious and are easily treated.  However it is important that anyone with a headache “that is out of the norm” should see their GP as soon as possible. Particularly if the headache is more likely to be serious i.e.:

  • it occurs suddenly and is very severe – often described as a blinding pain unlike anything experienced before
  • it doesn’t go away and gets worse over time
  • it occurs after a severe head injury
  • it’s triggered suddenly by coughing, laughing, sneezing, changes in posture, or physical exertion
  • you have symptoms suggesting a problem with your brain or nervous system, including weakness, slurred speech, confusion, memory loss, and drowsiness
  • you have additional symptoms, such as a high temperature (fever), a stiff neck, a rash, jaw pain while chewing, vision problems, a sore scalp, or severe pain and redness in one of your eyes

Tension headaches (see headache categorization) are one of the most common complaints we see in the Vitality Therapy treatment rooms, and Seated Acupressure Neck & Shoulder massage is what we recommend. (Book here)

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    • Being dehydrated doesn’t help
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    • To self-treat a muscular knot put a tennis ball in a sock (it makes it easier to hold on to the ball), simply place the tennis ball in the sock against either a wall or the floor and then press the part of your body with the knot on to it and move your body up and down.
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  • Having a ball?

    Previously I have written my guide to foam rolling parts 1 & 2.  Now I want to explore the uses for another self-massage tool, the spikey ball.  I would recommend you use both a foam roller and a spikey ball the reason is that for some parts of the body it is easier to use a spikey ball, for example: Releasing the feet Stand on one leg use a chair or the wall for balance.  Roll one foot at a time over the ball for a good few minutes.  Include the heel, the outside edge and the instep.  Push down stronger into any area to deepen the intensity.  Do each foot separately. Between the shoulders A common area of tension with modern postural habits is between the shoulder blades.  You can easily reach this area with a ball placed anywhere between the shoulder blades and move up and down against the wall.  One tip to stop the ball dropping it to put it in a long sock or stocking, drap it over your shoulder and then hold it in your hand. Lower back - Under sacrum and glutes You can use the floor of resistance to press your weight into or when lying to let gravity give you a help in hand.  Simply lie on the floor, bend your knees but keep your feet flat on the floor.  Then place the ball underneath your sacrum – the large triangular bone that forms part of your pelvis.  Now move just gently move your sacrum and glutes all over the ball.   If it feels safe to do so your can bring your knees into your chest to add additional pressure.  This will help release off your lower back.