If you combine stress, repetitive activities, and poor posture in your daily life, you may be experiencing Tension Headaches! They surround your head like a very tight crown. Fortunately, there is a lot you can do on your own to prevent or relieve tension headaches (or tension headaches). Work pressures, relationship stress, and other life challenges can all trigger them. When you add repetitive activities and poor posture to the equation, the pain starts in your neck and shoulders, slowly travels to the base of your skull, and then wraps around your head.
The following activities can contribute to tension headaches:
→ You are constantly looking at your phone
→ You work on your laptop or home office all day
→ You drive for hours without rest
→ You play video games for hours
→ You clench your jaw at night or during the day (bruxism)
These activities overstretch the muscles in the back of your neck and weaken them, increasing your susceptibility to tension headaches. The second part of the problem is that overusing any muscle leads to pain and, often, muscle spasms.
Episodic vs. chronic headache
Episodic tension headaches are often associated with stressful events. They usually come on quickly and are quite painful. These headaches go away once the stressful event is over or when you take over-the-counter medications. Chronic tension headaches may recur daily. They may occur as you wake up or after a long day of work or activity. The muscles in the neck and scalp tend to remain contracted. The pain and tightness develop on both sides of the head, in the forehead, and at the base of the skull.
7 ways to manage tension headaches
To prevent or relieve tension headaches, we recommend the following:
→ Minimize stress: Try to avoid or limit stressful events. (Okay, easy to say, hard to do)
→ Take breaks.: Limit the time you spend looking at your phone. Take breaks on long drives.
→ Adjust the way you sleep: Try sleeping on your back or side with a body pillow and your neck in a neutral position.
→ Exercise and stretching: Use a therapy stick or hard therapy ball to massage or stretch the muscles in your neck and shoulders.
→ Use over-the-counter medications: Aspirin, ibuprofen or acetaminophen can be quite effective for headache episodes. WARNING! if you often need to take these medications (>2 times a week consistently..) you may abuse them and in the long run worsen the headache
→ Consider non-drug treatment: Try massage therapy, chiropractic treatment, or acupuncture.
→ Visit a dentist: If you clench your jaw and have headaches, seek out a dentist who is knowledgeable about temporomandibular joint (TMJ) syndrome. The right mouthguard may help some patients. A much more effective solution to bruxism may be an injection of botulinum toxin type A (BOTOX) into the masseter muscles.
What about rubbing your temples when tension headaches start to form — does it help? Muscle tension varies, so rubbing your temples may not bring relief. However, rubbing tender points or trigger points in the muscles of your neck and shoulders may help. If your tension headaches don’t go away after trying these suggestions, it may be time to examine the psychological stress in your life and how you can manage it. In addition, it may be a good idea to see a specialist to determine the exact causes of your headaches and develop a management plan.
