Headaches are one of the most common reasons for people to seek out medical help. Several factors may lead to headaches including stress, anxiety, allergies, eye strain, tense muscles, whiplash and even neck pain.
One of the most common types of headaches is due to muscle tension of the neck and shoulders caused by stress or sitting in front of the computer all day. The pain is experienced as a tight band around the head, worse towards the end of the day and may be relieved by over the counter pain tablets, however taking too many pain killers may worsen the headache, as your body will decrease the production of natural pain killers.
Instead of reaching for those pain killers next time you feel a head ache coming on, try the following:
- Take a break from sitting in front of your computer.
- Stretch the back of your neck by lowering your chin to your chest, and hold it there for a few seconds.
- Stretch the side of your neck by lowering your ear to the same side shoulder, hold for a few seconds. Repeat on the opposite side.
- Place your thumbs at the junction between the base of your skull and the top of your neck, apply a gentle pressure for a few seconds.
- Remember that if you have been suffering from headaches for a little while, you may need to get your eyes checked. Or if you already wear glasses, it is important to have your eyes checked every year.
- If you have tried everything possible to reduce your headache, to no avail, try Chiropractic treatment.
Chiropractic treatment for headaches is very successful, by reducing the tension in the facial, neck and shoulder muscles and restoring the normal movement of the neck and spine. Headaches caused by tension, whiplash, neck problems and two thirds of migraine headaches respond to chiropractic treatment.