Tension Headaches

If you’re prone to getting headaches that correlate with spending long hours at a computer/on your phone, times of stress, or poor sleep then this post is for you! Tension headaches share similar characteristics with migraines, but the main differences between the two are that you likely won’t experience visual disturbances, light sensitivity, and nausea with a tension headache and they are usually less intense than migraines. Tension headaches are caused by tightness in the muscles throughout your head and neck. These tight muscles can refer pain to the base of the skull, behind the ear, the top of the head, forehead, and the eyes and cause symptoms that feel like a headache. 

Luckily, tension headaches respond really well to physical therapy treatments. Your physical therapist can help you identify patterns in your daily routine that may be leading to sustained tension in the head/neck musculature. Once identified, they can teach you positional and activity modifications to improve the repetitive overuse that contributes to trigger point development. Additionally all of our physical therapists at Dynamic PT are trained in trigger point dry needling, which is an extremely effective treatment for getting rid of the muscle tightness causing your symptoms. Finally, we’ll put together a comprehensive exercise program to prevent your headaches from recurring. Head to our instagram page for a post about how to loosen up your neck muscles at home! 

If you’re interested in getting physical therapy treatment for your tension headaches, please call (312) 643-1555 or email [email protected] with any questions or to schedule your consultation today.