After a lot of thought on what my first blog should be, I am really looking forward to share one of the most prevalent pain types among individuals aged 20 to 64 years - tension headaches.

What are tension headaches?

One of the most common types of headaches, the tension headache is also called as the stress headache and muscle contraction headache. It is the mild to severe pain behind your eyes, head or neck.

What causes tension headaches?

Tension headaches are linked to various causes, which can be from nutritional, muscular, genetic or environmental. Stress and poor posture are also among the most common causes for tension headaches.

What are the different types of tension headaches?

Tension headaches can be of three types based on the frequency of headache:

• Infrequent episodic-type tension-type headache – One or fewer episodes per month
• Frequent episodic-type tension-type headache – More than one but fewer than 15 episodes per month for three or more months
• Chronic tension-type headache – More than 15 episodes per month for three or more months

How can physiotherapy help improve headache?

Physiotherapy treatment is effective in decreasing the frequency and intensity of tension headaches. A range of physiotherapy techniques including re-education of postural muscles, cervical thoracic mobilization, myofascial and trigger point release for cervical muscles, neural mobilization technique, cervical and thoracic mobility exercises and others can be used to treat tension headaches.

The combination of physiotherapy treatment modalities depends on the assessment findings, and aim to desensitize active trigger points, restore muscle length, improve mobility of the cervical and thoracic spine. This is followed by an exercise program to ensure that the spine mobility and muscle strength is maintained to prevent the recurrence of headaches.

For more info, contact Physiomax Health.

References:

1. Repiso-Guardeño, A., Moreno-Morales, N., Armenta-Pendón, M. A., Rodríguez-Martínez, M. D. C., Pino-Lozano, R., & Armenta-Peinado, J. A. (2023). Physical therapy in tension-type headache: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(5), 4466.
2. Holm, J. E., Holroyd, K. A., Hursey, K. G., & Penzien, D. B. (1986). The role of stress in recurrent tension headache. Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain, 26(4), 160-167.
3. France, S., Bown, J., Nowosilskyj, M., Mott, M., Rand, S., & Walters, J. (2014). Evidence for the use of dry needling and physiotherapy in the management of cervicogenic or tension-type headache: a systematic review. Cephalalgia, 34(12), 994-1003.