St Leonards Physiotherapy proudly offer quality care for headaches to local St Leonards, Cammeray, Crows Nest, North Sydney, Lane Cove & North Shore residents.
A Headache is one of the most common conditions in Australia. Nearly 15 percent of Australians are using painkillers for a headache at any given moment.
As headaches are so common, many believe they’re just a part of life. But a continuous headache is really a sign that something is wrong.
Also wrong is the consistent use of painkillers to relieve headaches. It’s like taking off the warning light that signals that your car has a problem! How can you tell how strong or what type your headache if you’re constantly blocking the signals?
Medication doesn’t cure your headache. It just provides temporary relief to reduce the pain. It’s really important to seek more effective treatment.
Types
Tension headaches and migraines are considered the most common types of headaches. Cluster headaches are more unusual. Other kinds of headaches are cervicogenic headaches, sinus headaches, rebound headaches and exertion headaches.
Causes
All of these types of headaches have different causes. Headaches can be due to a range of factors such as tension, bad posture, an accidental injury and medications. They can also result from environmental factors such as powerful smells and pollution. They can be related to diet.
Probably the most neglected reason for a migraine and stress headache is something that a physiotherapist can treat effectively. Some people get nerve irritation in their upper neck area as a result of their spinal joins not functioning properly.
If you want to get technical, physiotherapists refer to this as a vertebral dysfunction that causes a cervicogenic headache. What happens is that because the nerves of the upper neck are connected to the scalp and face, irritation to these nerves bring about a headache.
Assessment
How will you be assessed?
Your physiotherapist can help you with headaches. They will start by meticulously examining the likely triggers for your headaches. They will also conduct a detailed history – orthopaedic, neurological and a spinal evaluation – to discover the reason for your headache.
Additional diagnostic testing – for instance an X-ray or an MRI – might also be essential. After reaching at a specific diagnosis, your physiotherapy care for your headaches can begin.
Treatment
Physiotherapy can be an extremely efficient remedy for headaches. By restoring proper motion to the spinal joints of the neck, your physiotherapist can considerably lessen nerve irritation and muscle tension. This will help to minimise the cause of your headaches.
