Osteopath for Headaches: An Effective Solution Worth Trying
- MPR Health
- July 9, 2023
Osteopathic Treatment for Headaches
Headaches are a pervasive health condition, impacting over 6 million people in Australia alone. Various factors, including muscle tension and stress, often trigger these painful episodes. As practitioners in osteopathic medicine, we specialise in manual therapy to restore normal function to the body’s joints, muscles, nerves, and connective tissues. An osteopathic intervention offers an effective, non-drug headache treatment option capable of alleviating headache pain by reducing inflammation, relieving muscle stiffness, and improving blood flow in the head and neck.
Understanding Osteopathy’s Holistic Approach to Headache Relief: Osteopathy adopts a holistic approach to treating headaches, employing a technique known as osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT). This gentle technique focuses on treating the entire body to address the root cause of headaches rather than merely managing their symptoms. Osteopathic physicians restore balance in the nervous and musculoskeletal systems by restoring restricted movement patterns due to muscular tension, injury, or poor posture.
This comprehensive approach relieves various types of headaches, including tension headaches, migraines, and upper neck pain, without reliance on medication. It marks osteopathy as a formidable method of natural headache remedy and holistic headache treatment.
Table of Contents
Identifying Common Causes Of Headaches
For an osteopathic intervention to be effective, identifying the causes of headaches is essential. Headache triggers can be categorised as primary (causing most headaches) or secondary (resulting from other health conditions).
Recognising Common Types of Headaches
For osteopathic healing techniques to work efficiently, it’s crucial to identify the type of headache that is affecting you. While there are many types of headaches, this article focuses on tension-type headaches, cluster headaches, and migraines.
Tension-type headaches
Tension-type headaches are common among desk workers, occurring weekly for many individuals. The pain is typically felt at the back of the head and can radiate behind the eyes when severe. People often experience tightness and tension in the shoulders and upper neck, and the headache can range from 30 minutes to 7 days.
Cluster headaches
Occur in groups over several months, hence their name. They are a sharp pain on one side of the head behind the eyes. Cluster headaches can last for hours and may migrate to other areas of the head and neck region.
Migraine
Migraines, often considered severe headaches akin to cluster headaches, are typically excruciating, throbbing pains that can last for hours. Individuals with migraines often experience additional symptoms such as nausea, visual disturbances, sensitivity to light and sound, and blurred vision. Migraines can be accompanied by an “aura,” a precursor of the impending headache.
Causes and Symptoms of Headaches
So, where do these headaches come from? Well, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Many factors can play a part, from the physical, like muscle tension, to the environment, such as allergies, and the emotional, like stress.
General Causes
Headaches, especially tension headaches, can often be traced back to muscle tension. If you’re under a lot of stress or have been in an awkward position for too long, like hunched over a laptop, your muscles can get strained, leading to a headache.
Other headaches have different causes. Sinus headaches, for instance, can come from inflammation in your sinuses, often due to allergies. And migraines? They can be triggered by many factors, from lack of sleep to certain foods.
Also, it’s important to know what causes a headache so that you can get the proper treatment. The two common triggers for headaches are primary (triggers that cause most headaches) and secondary (triggers caused by other health conditions).
Primary headache triggers include:
- stress
- postural strain
- muscular tightness
- sleep deprivation
- fatigue
- eating habits, such as skipping meals
- alcohol consumption (dehydration)
- and… caffeine withdrawal. Remember your morning coffee!
Secondary headache triggers include:
- conditions, including sinusitis and eye strain
- head injury
- dehydration related to specific medical conditions.
- menstrual cycle changes
- side effects of certain medications
- poor diet
Osteopathic Intervention for Headaches
Osteopathic intervention for headaches initially focuses on reducing the severity of symptoms. This involves light soft tissue massage to your neck muscles to improve blood supply to your head and neck, restoring normal function. Stretching exercises can also help increase the range of motion and prevent the shortening of muscles and tendons contributing to neck pain.
How Osteopathy Relieves Headache Pain
Let’s dive a bit deeper into how an osteopath might help relieve your headaches.
Osteopathy is a holistic and hands-on approach to healthcare that addresses the body rather than focusing solely on the symptoms.
Once symptoms subside, osteopathic techniques address the causative factors that led to the headache. Deep soft tissue massage, manipulative treatment, and occasionally dry needling may be employed to alleviate muscles & joints of the upper back and neck.
Osteopathic healthcare can also address other underlying causes of headaches, including stress & poor posture. If you endure chronic headaches or migraines, osteopathic treatment can provide relief without relying solely on medication.
The Proven Benefits of Osteopathy in Treating Headaches
Osteopathic treatment, a form of holistic health, has proven effective for managing headaches and addressing their root causes.
Benefits of Osteopathy
- Holistic Approach: Osteopathy looks at the body as a whole, identifying causes of your headaches.
- Non-Invasive: Osteopathy eliminates the need for anaesthesia or medication.
- Promotes Self-Healing: Osteopathy enables natural healing processes, promoting overall health and well-being.
Preventative Measures for Headaches
Headaches can be debilitating, but there are simple steps you can take to reduce their frequency and intensity:
- Identifying potential triggers:
Everyone’s triggers vary, so it’s crucial to recognise what triggers your headaches. - Maintain a Balanced Diet: A healthy diet can prevent headaches.
- Exercise regularly but avoid overexertion: Moderate exercise can keep your body fit and reduce stress.
- Maintain a healthy sleep schedule:
Sufficient sleep is essential for health and can help reduce the likelihood of headaches.
Stretches and Exercises For Headache Relief
Simple exercises and stretches can help alleviate headache pain. These can be done at home, providing an excellent opportunity to relax and relieve stress. Neck stretches, in particular, can target muscle tension in the neck, a common cause of headaches.
Conclusion
Osteopathy offers a safe and effective approach to treating and preventing headaches. Osteopaths possess the expertise to identify the source of pain, whether from muscles, joints, or nerves. If you suffer from headaches, we recommend visiting an osteopathic physician to explore non-invasive treatment options.
Embrace the benefits of osteopathic healthcare and say goodbye to constantly reaching for pain medication. Call us today at (02) 8054 7166 or book your appointment online to begin your journey toward headache relief.
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Our North Shore Osteopaths are here to help you with your pain so you can get back to living your best life without worrying about pain.
In the spirit of reconciliation, MPR Health acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
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