3 Causes of Headaches often missed
What could be causing your HEADACHES?
If you suffer from headaches, you know how much it can impact daily life. In this blog we discuss 3 causes of headaches that are often missed.
1.Posture
The most common posture that we see in our office is the forward head posture. Many times, when people come in suffering with headaches, they have this particular posture. This posture has these features:
- Ears sit in front of shoulders, as opposed to directly above
- Head is tilted up to be able to see, otherwise head is down and looking at the ground
- Shoulders are rounded, leading to tightness in the shoulders and chest
People that suffer from these types of headaches:
- Sitting for long periods of time, whether at work or recreationally
- Do not do stretches and work on strengthening the upper body and core
- Poor work place set up, and not taking adequate breaks
- Prolonged use on electronic devices in poor posture, eg on bed, couch etc
So where does the pain come from?
The pain can come from a number of areas. The longer the postural problem has been assumed, the more likely at pain can come from a few different factors. Here are a few:
- Tight muscles in the back of the neck, trying to pull the head upright. These tight muscles can refer pain into the head, especially the back of the head and cause headaches.
- Jamming up of the base of the skull and the neck.
- Jamming up of the upper neck. Limited range of neck movement is also seen with a stiff upper neck
2. Stiff neck
When joints of the neck are stiff and not functioning well, then this can refer pain into the head and cause headaches. Sometimes people will feel both the neck and head pain, but sometimes people only feel the headaches and not release their neck is stiff.
These are some of the reasons for stiff necks that we see in our office:
- Staying in one posture for too long, such as in front of the computer
- After a sporting injury or fall, simulating a whiplash injury
- Whiplash from motor vehicle incident
Improving the movement of the neck joints can sometimes relieve headaches. The stiff joints often go hand in hand with poor posture, including the forward head posture mentioned above.
3. Dehydration
One of the symptoms of dehydration is headaches, and as much as most people are aware of this, This is one of the most common causes of headaches often missed.
Start by drinking more water in the day. On average adults should aim for 8 glasses a day and this doesn’t include water drunk during exercising. Make water more interesting by adding a slice of lime or a strawberry. Drinking herbal teas counts as water and drinking too much alcohol and tea/coffee will cause your system to be more dehydrated.
What can you do?
If you have issues with your posture and water consumption and have spent time on improving them AND your headaches have not reduced then you may need to consider a chiropractor or an osteopath.
Headache too severe?
If your headache is severe and has come on suddenly, then a visit to the GP is warranted. It is important to rule out any sinister causes or migraines.
Any questions, please email us at info@errolstchiro.com.au or call us on 9329 1118 and we can get one of our chiropractors to speak with you.
Lisa, director
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