Recurring tension headaches? Physical therapy can help treat them!

Frequently dealing with pain in your head? If you said yes, you’re likely dealing with chronic tension headaches. 

Headaches are the third most common pain complaint throughout the world. They’re debilitating and can greatly impact a person’s quality of life. Fortunately, reducing headache pain and frequency is possible. By working with a trained physical therapist, you can experience immediate decreases in your tension headache pain. These specialists can also help you learn issues that could be the root cause of your frequent headaches and develop a personalized therapy plan to treat chronic tension headaches. 

How do you know you have a tension headache that needs treatment? 

Tension headaches are one of the most common forms of head pain that physical therapists treat. Some tension headaches can disappear on their own. However, people with recurring headaches may need to consider getting professional assistance. 

A few of the issues that can cause you to seek chronic headache therapy include: 

• Chronically poor posture
• Neck conditions
• Jaw problems
• Fatigue
• Cervical osteoarthritis
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Stress 

What’s involved in tension headache treatment?

One common end goal of physical therapy is pain relief. This is definitely a goal your physical therapist will set for your tension headache treatment plan. They will also seek to build a therapy plan that can reduce the frequency of your headaches. 

Achieving these and other goals is possible thanks to the therapy methods at your physical therapist’s disposal. Some of the techniques that may be included in your treatment plan include: 

• Cupping — This therapy method involves placing silicone cups on the skin. The suction created under the cup pulls the skin upward, which can increase circulation. The cup can also be moved along muscles to reduce tension. One medical study showed that a form of cupping helped reduce headache severity by 66%. 

• Manual therapy — This category of physical therapy is also known as hands-on therapy. Manual therapy modalities involve your physical therapist using their hands to manipulate and mobilize joints and soft tissue. A study on manual therapy reports that four weeks of treatment led to an almost four-point improvement in headache pain scores. 

Additional therapy methods your physical therapist may use are: 

• Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM)
• McKenzie Method^®
• Ergonomics assessment

Advent Physical Therapy offers treatment for tension headaches

Tired of living with frequent and persistent tension headaches? Our specialists at Advent Physical Therapy are ready to help you find ways to treat and prevent tension headaches. We offer free screenings intended to reveal the root cause of your headaches. In addition, our team excels at constructing personalized physical therapy plans designed to reduce headache pain and prevent it from recurring. 

Can’t make it into one of our 15 West Michigan clinics? That’s OK! We can help you get effective headache care from home thanks to our virtual therapy and at-home care services. You can even start getting our help with your headaches if you don’t have a doctor’s referral. 

Contact our team today for more information about how we can help with your headaches or to schedule an initial appointment.