Page 12 - Dainfern Precinct Living Issue 2_2023
P. 12
Health & Wellness
So, let’s try and simplify it.
Headaches are classified into 2
categories – Primary and Secondary.
Primary headaches are not related to
any other condition and they include
migraine, tension-type and cluster
headaches. With tension-type headaches
being the most common.
The other category of headaches are
Secondary headaches - they are caused
by underlying conditions. The list of
conditions is very long, but the most
common cause is medication-overuse
headache. Three other culprits that I also
want to mention that we often see in
clinical practise are neck (cervicogenic),
TMJ (jaw joint) and sinus headaches.
As humans our classic response to a
headache is to drink medication, and
although in theory it’s not wrong to
Headaches numb the pain – this very seldom deals
with the root of the problem.
are horrible The good news is that you can add
no matter the physiotherapy to your headache
intensity... and conquering arsenal. Physiotherapy has
been proven to decrease or resolve the
they can be intensity, frequency, and duration of
headache and to decrease medication
a real pain in use in regards to headaches.
the neck It is done mainly through MANUAL
THERAPY, EXERCISES AND EDUCATION.
MANUAL THERAPY
HITTING THE NAIL Hands-on techniques are designed to
alleviate joint and muscle stiffness,
increase mobility of the neck, decrease
ON THE HEADACHE muscle tension and spasms, and improve
muscle performance.
EXERCISES
lobally it is experienced by though our understanding of headaches It might sound out of place, but specific
millions of people, with the has grown a lot over the last few decades exercises have been proven to decrease
statistics telling us that the – there is still a lot we don’t know. pain, improve endurance, decrease
Gprevalence among adults is inflammation, and promote overall
as high as 50%. In developed countries up The funny thing is most people can healing. By activating and strengthening
to 1 adult in 20 has a headache every, or describe their headache pain in detail - your postural muscles we are equipping
nearly, every day. even when they don’t really have one… your body to stabilise your head. This
Who has not at some point uttered in turns decreases tension and stiffness
Headaches have in general held on to the dreaded ‘my head feels like it is around the neck, which will decrease the
their mysterious nature, because even exploding'? intensity of most headaches.
EDUCATION
Educational strategies have been found
helpful at lessening severity and/or
frequency of headaches. These strategies
include identifying highly individualised
triggers (i.e., dietary, sleep, movement/
postural habits, stressors, hydration).
In future, before you rely on another
bottle of pain killers, rather consider
consulting your local physiotherapist,
as this might just hit the nail on the
This diagram shows the most common referral patterns for the mentioned headaches. headache.
6 DPL issue 10 2022
10 DPL issue 3 2023
