Is your headache a tension headache?
Common symptoms of tension headaches include:
- pain on both sides of your head, face or neck
- feeling like something is pressing on your head or being tightened around it
- the affected area may feel tender and your head may hurt more when touched
Tension headaches are annoying but not as disabling as for example, migraines. When you have a tension headache it is normal that you are able to continue with your daily activities without risking making your headache worse.
Common causes of tension headaches include:
- stress
- sleep problems
- caffeine
- tight muscles in your neck & shoulders
If you feel your sleeping issues are contributing to your tension headaches then changing your sleeping habits may be beneficial. If you feel stress is contributing to your tension headaches then prioritising relaxing activities or yoga may be beneficial.
In my experience some clients who have tight neck & shoulder also suffer from tension headaches. In addition it is common for people to carry their stress in their neck & shoulders which means they become tense which may lead to tension headaches. Feeling stressed or having tight neck & shoulder are issues that frequently lead to clients booking a massage.
Related Posts
Is the way you breathing causing your neck pain? – Part 1
If you have had a treatment with us, we may have talked to you about importance of deep breathing, if you have tension in your neck. Shallow breathing, thoracic breathing, or chest breathing is the drawing of minimal breath into the lungs, usually by drawing air into the chest area using accessory muscles rather than throughout the lungs via the diaphragm. This means that you over use some of the accessory muscles of breathing, including the scalenes and sternocleidomastoid muscles both of which are located in the side of the neck. The scalenes elevate the 1st rib during inspiration and the sternocleidomastoid raises the sternum. Unfortunately, these accessory muscles aren’t built for routine respiration, and they exhaust and eventually injure themselves which may result in pain and/or a reduced range of movement (i.e. inability to turn your head fully from side to side). People shallow breath when they are nervous, stressed, anxious, or when they concentrate. So simply stopping and taking one deep breath after you send each email, can reduce the over use of your scalenes and sternocleidomastoid.
Why do muscles get stiff and painful?
Muscle fibers are designed to tense and relax and go through a natural tense/relax cycle as you use your body. A muscle under sustained tension without a corresponding relaxation phase becomes stiff and eventually spams causing pain. There are three reasons why muscles don’t relax:
- Overuse is for example when you injury yourself in the gym.
- Disuse is when your muscles tense when you are at your desk due to the body’s natural response to the demands and pressure you are under. Muscles are designed to be used which means if you sit still for long periods the muscular tension doesn’t dissipate.
- Misuse for the majority of people this is due to poor habits when walking, standing and sitting. Sedentary lifestyles means the muscles of the legs are often held in contracted positions for long periods of time and which can lead to stiffness. Sitting at computers for long hours keeps the neck and back in fixed positions causing the same muscles to contract which can lead to muscle tension and in some people muscle pain.
- Stretching Often - Stretching is, of course, a valuable way to relieve muscle stiffness.
- Exercise - Exercise in general is extremely good for releasing muscular stiffness, improving your mood and creating good health.
- Yoga -You can also consider yoga, which is a form of both exercise and stretching, and may have a positive effect on your future muscle discomfort.
- General Health - Your muscles are also very sensitive to your general health as well. You need to do anything you can to make sure you're getting enough sleep, eating protein, and drinking water. These small changes are going to improve your muscle health, which should improve the way your muscles deal with demanding lifestyles.
- Massage - Massage is an excellent way to combat muscle stiffness and pain.
