The fact that the season of giving, joy and celebration can also be our most stressful time of year is one of the worst kept secrets of the Holidays. And yet, year after year, we charge forward, often fighting through tension-type headaches to complete our shopping, plan for get-togethers with friends, and fulfill all our family obligations.
But why fight through the headaches, asks local physical therapist Kent Bond with Impact Physical Therapy of Hillsboro, when a physical therapist can often provide relief from tension-type headaches by correcting the problems that are causing your pain?
“A tension headache often starts with pain or dysfunction at the back of the head or neck – discomfort that can spread around your head, and even to your eyes,” said Bond, owner of Impact Physical Therapy of Hillsboro. “What we as physical therapists can do is, through a thorough examination and a series of questions, determine the likely causes of your headache – then treat these causes.”
According to the World Health Organization, a tension-type headache (TTH) is the most common primary headache disorder in the world, typically related to stress or associated with musculoskeletal problems in the neck. One study published in the U.S. Library of Medicine called tension-type headaches the second-most common illness worldwide, affecting 80 to 90 percent of people at least once in their lives.
Tension headaches, as they’re often called, are frequently described as a feeling of pressure or tightness, often like a band around the head that spreads into or from the neck.
According to the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), such headaches may be caused by stress, fatigue, poor posture, or problems (such as an injury) with the neck or jaw.
“Once we determine the cause of your tightness and pain, a physical therapist can work with you to correct the underlying problem that’s leading you to experience these headaches, be it fatigued muscles from bad posture, or a lack of strength or mobility in your neck and shoulders,” said Bond.
Often, says Bond, treatments will focus on three areas: improved posture, improved strength in the upper back, neck and shoulders, and improved mobility in the neck and spine through the use of stretching and pain-reducing movements – also known as manual therapy.
“We’ll not only provide relief through treatments in the clinic, but physical therapists also work with people to correct the issues which caused the headache in the first place, be it improving posture or simple changes in lifestyle,” said Bond. “PTs always treat with an eye toward future prevention.”
If the Holiday Season has already become a headache for you this year, schedule an assessment with the Impact Physical Therapy of Hillsboro team to learn more about what’s causing your tension headache and how it can be successfully and affordably treated through physical therapy.