All About Headaches & How to Prevent Them
Headaches are one of the most common sources of pain. In order to manage and prevent headaches, it is important to understand the types and factors that can contribute to them.
A headache can have many causes: nerve compression, inflammation, and blood vessel constriction or dilation. Oftentimes, one event can lead to a cascade of responses that we call a headache. There are several types of headaches:
Tension headaches are the most common, affecting 70% of the population, usually felt as a dull ache or pressure on both sides of the head. They're often caused by tight muscles in the head, neck and shoulders, usually as a response to stress, fatigue or poor posture.
Cervicogenic headaches begin at the neck and base of the skull and usually spread along one side of the head towards the temples in a ram’s horn pattern. Cervicogenic headaches make up 15-20% of all headaches. They originate from the upper cervical spine, can be aggravated with specific neck movements and often present with restricted neck motion.
Migraines are a less common neurologic condition that affects 10% of the population and occurs 3 times more in women. Migraines tend to have intense, throbbing headaches that can last hours to days. Migraines also include: nausea, sensitivity to light or sound, or visual disturbances such as auras.
Cluster headaches are rare headaches, affecting less than 0.1% of the population. Cluster headaches usually involve severe, stabbing pain on one side of your head. These headaches occur in groups of several headaches per day and can last several weeks. They may also come with symptoms of eye redness or tearing and a stuffy nose.
Research has demonstrated that dry needling, moderate exercise, and cervical and upper thoracic manipulations are the most effective treatments for both cervicogenic and chronic tension headaches, the two most common types of headaches.
Dry needling uses thin, monofilament needles to stimulate and treat muscles, nerves and connective tissue to help manage neuromuscular pain and movement restrictions. Dry needling helps with headaches by decreasing muscle tension, stimulating the body’s healing response, and increasing blood flow to the treatment area.
Spinal manipulation is the application of a short, quick thrust to a joint. Spinal manipulation helps with headaches by decreasing joint pressure, improving joint and vertebral disc hydration, reducing inflammation and improving mobility.
Both dry needling and manipulation release endorphins that help reduce pain, allowing you to return to exercise.
Regular exercise is great for both the treatment and prevention of headaches, especially cervicogenic and tension headaches. Exercise helps you manage daily stress, releases endorphins- our natural pain killers, improves mood, and reduces muscle tension. In addition, regular exercise improves cardiovascular function and circulation and promotes an overall sense of well-being.
An effective way to manage and prevent headaches is to stay hydrated! Depending on your level of activity and the weather conditions, most adults should be drinking at least 10 cups of water a day. Caffeine and alcohol are both diuretics, causing an increase in fluid loss for your body. When you are dehydrated, your body has decreased blood pressure resulting in a decrease of blood flow to your brain. Dehydration also causes an electrolyte imbalance causing fatigue, muscle tension, and cramps. Both fatigue and muscle tension commonly lead to tension headaches.
Another way to prevent and reduce headaches is by eliminating potential triggers. Headache triggers vary from person to person. Some food and drinks can trigger headaches such as: caffeine (having too much or experiencing a withdrawal), alcohol, specific foods (chocolate, aged and soft cheeses, processed meats), food additives such as monosodium glutamate, artificial sweeteners like aspartame, even delayed or missed meals can contribute to headaches.
Other common headache triggers include: emotional or physical stress, glare from bright lights or strain from lights that are too low, hormone changes (menstrual cycle), weather changes (temperature, humidity, barometric pressure), sleep disturbances, strong odors or perfumes, smoke or smoking, jaw clenching, and certain medications such as oral contraceptives and anti-depressants.
Prevention and lifestyle modification are proactive forms of treatment for headaches. At Refuge Physiotherapy, we use education, exercise, massage, spinal manipulation, and dry needling to treat cervicogenic and tension headaches with good success. We instruct and provide exercises to help patients consistently use good posture. And we work together with patients to help identify their headache triggers in order to avoid or minimize the impact of their headaches.
Some headache triggers are avoidable, such as diet and levels of lighting. Others we can monitor and anticipate, like changes in hormones and weather changes.
When you have persistent headaches, we often recommend keeping a headache diary that can include: what foods you eat, how much water you drink, the amounts of caffeine and alcohol you have consumed, as well as the type and amount of exercise you complete. This can help identify headache patterns and your personal triggers.
If you experience frequent or severe headaches, we would love to help you find the underlying causes of your headaches and minimize their impact through individualized treatment. Please call or schedule an initial evaluation online with Refuge Physiotherapy.
