DO YOU SUFFER FROM A 'FOGGY HEAD' OR FREQUENT NAGGING HEADACHES?
These types of headaches are very common and we receive numerous referrals from neurologists referring patients for ‘tension headaches’ due to overly tense muscles in the scalp, neck, and shoulders (sometimes referred to as “cervicogenic headaches”). Patients often worry that they have something more serious which is why they visit a neurologist.
In the vast majority of cases, brain scans show nothing untoward and the treatment then falls to us to begin our detective work in identifying the exact trigger points, with muscle knots in the neck and shoulders and facet joints in the neck likely to be causing the issue.
Muscular trigger points and stiff joints responsible for much of the referred pain in tension headaches, do not usually show on any type of scan or x-ray, they are usually best identified and treated by the skilled hands of the manual therapist such as we have at Clayhall Osteopaths. The manual therapy techniques we offer range from acupressure-style massage to medical acupuncture and cranial osteopathy.
TOP OF HEAD PAIN
May involve tension in the muscles at the back of the neck and head such as splenius capitis and occipitals.
POSTERIOR HEADACHE
Commonly occurs from referred pain in the muscles in the neck and shoulder such as levator scapular and trapezius.
SIDE OF HEAD PAIN
These pains often respond well to precise massage and acupuncture targeting the muscles at the base of the skull such as the suboccipital, semispinalis muscles, and upper trapezius muscles.
FRONT OF HEAD PAIN
Often responds well to acupuncture and massage to the frontalis muscle.
HEADACHES INVOLVING EYE PAIN
Common trigger points that require precise targeting include those of the occipitalis and upper splenius cervicis muscles.