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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Foam Rolling Guide – Part 2
In Part 1 I introduced the concept of foam rolling and explained what it is. In part 2 I want to give you my tips and techniques. How long should you foam roll? For general maintenance, each muscle should be focused on for up to 2 minutes at a time. I know many of my readers are highly educated and now there are over 600 muscle in the body – don’t worry you don’t need to foam roll them all! You focus on the ones that feel tight and in need of the foam rolling. How to use a foam roller if you hunch over your desk all day? To open up your chest you can lay on the foam roller so it is underneath your spine – for about 10 minutes and this will open up your back & chest. Any more tips? You can essentially foam roll any part of your body. You just start and place with the movement, speed and pressure to see what works for you. But don’t expect it to feel comfortable – those tender spots are the ones that need the help most. I would suggest you start off slowly and build up time, speed and pressure slowly. The outside of the thighs (or IT bands) are an area of tightness for runners and cyclists and its highly accessible on a foam roller. The larger muscles in the legs, quads (front of thighs), hamstrings (back of thighs), calf musles are very easy to foam roll.
