Did you know that physical therapy, acupuncture, and massage therapy can all help treat headaches or migraines?
First, here is an overview of the more common types of headaches:
Tension headaches:
this is the most common type of headache and is usually felt as mild, steady, dull pain. Depending on which muscles are tight, you can get frontal headaches, pain to your temples, or pain that start at the base of the skull and travels up
Migraine headaches:
a recurring headache that is often moderate to severe in pain, and is often felt as a pounding or throbbing pain to usually just one side of the head. It can be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and/or sensitivities to light and sound
Cluster headaches:
the least common, it is usually the most severe and is felt as a stabbing pain behind one eye
The key to treatment is to figure out the cause of your headache. With tension headaches, physical therapy, acupuncture, and massage therapy are all effective ways to release tight and spastic muscles causing your headache. Physical therapists can also assess if a specific joint in your neck may be causing the muscle tension, thereby leading to the headache.
Migraines are believed to be caused by altered circulation to your head. In traditional Oriental medicine, the thought is there is a blockage in your energy flow, or your Qi (pronounced “chi”), in your head and neck. Acupuncture and specifically Shiatsu (or “finger pressure”) massage can help address these blockages and naturally restore your body’s energy flow to effectively treat your migraines.
For more information, please contact our clinic to see if one of these treatments can be beneficial to you.
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