Common Condition and Stretch
Tension Headaches
Ever get those headaches that start a the base of your neck and travel down the sides of your skull? Tension headaches are typically headaches that can occur due to a variety of reasons including straining of the suboccipital muscles, improper joint movement of the cervical vertebrae causing problems, and stress. Typically the pain is dull and achy but should never be confused with migraine headaches.
Migraines will usually cause photo or phonophobia which means that bright lights and sounds will cause an increase in symptoms. They also can cause nausea and vomiting. When taking ibuprofen or asprin, they can mask the symptoms which will reduce severity but high amounts of them can cause gastric irritation and ulcers.
Things that will help tension headaches include stretching of suboccipital muscles, sleep and chiropractic manipulation of joints that are moving improperly.
To stretch the suboccipital muscles, you can do the following:
side view
|
view from back
|
Take your arm and pull it on the base of your neck.
Pull your head down towards your legs.
Turn your head to the opposite direction of where your hand is (if the hand is on the right side of your neck, turn to the left).
Hold stretch for 30 seconds.
Repeat 3 times a day.
|
>>[ph.newsletter 03.08]