Migraines and headaches can be debilitating, affecting daily life and overall well-being. While medications provide temporary relief, they often don’t address the root causes. This is where physical therapy can make a significant difference. By concentrating on posture, muscle imbalances, and stress control, physical therapy offers a holistic strategy for decreasing the frequency and power of migraines. In this blog, we’ll explore a step-by-step approach to migraine relief through physical therapy, guiding you on how to manage migraines and headaches effectively. Discover how Physical Therapy for Migraines & Headaches can transform your journey to pain-free living.
Causes of headaches & migraines
A few key factors cause most headaches:
- Teeth grinding or bruxing
- Episodes of dizziness or vertigo
- Muscle tension and tightness
- Decreased neck range of motion
- Tight muscles between the shoulder blades
- Vascular issues
- Sinus issues
Is physical therapy right for all kinds of headaches?
According to the analyses, physical therapy is the right treatment for many other sorts of headaches, including:
- cervicogenic headaches
- migraine episodes
- tension-type headaches
An older study from 2016 examined the impact of physical therapy on cervicogenic, migraine, and tension-type headaches. The study noted that not all sorts of physical therapy are equally useful for all kinds of headaches. According to the 2016 study, physical therapy seems less effective for migraine than for tension-type headaches. This is because the underlying element of migraine is a neurological disorder, whereas tension-type headaches are more connected to issues with the musculoskeletal system. As such, the latter seems more responsive to physical therapy. The study infers that all three headache types seem to benefit from a treatment method that integrates physical therapy with other kinds of treatment. A person who shares headaches should speak with a doctor or physical therapist about their treatment choices.
Benefits of Physical Therapy for Headaches & Migraines
For Headaches
- Reduces the frequency and severity of headaches
- Improves neck and shoulder mobility
- Decreases reliance on pain medications
- Enhances overall posture and alignment
- Relieves muscle tension and stiffness
- Promotes relaxation and stress management
- Increases blood circulation to the head and neck
- Helps identify and address headache triggers
- Supports long-term headache prevention
- Improves overall quality of life
For Migraines
- Reduces the frequency and intensity of migraines
- Alleviates tension and muscle tightness in the neck and shoulders
- Improves posture and alignment, which can contribute to fewer headaches
- Provides techniques for managing stress, a common migraine trigger
- Helps in identifying and avoiding migraine triggers through personalized strategies
- Promotes overall relaxation and reduces anxiety, which can help in preventing migraines
- Encourages physical activity, which has been shown to help reduce migraine frequency
- Offers tailored exercises and stretches to address specific migraine-related issues
- Facilitates better sleep quality, which can help in reducing migraine occurrences
Risks of Physical Therapy for Migraine
It’s always necessary to speak to your doctor before you begin any new migraine treatment. Some individuals with this ailment have exercise-triggered migraine attacks. For this cause, physical therapy for migraine may make people’s symptoms more alarming. It’s essential to know if physical therapy could be a trigger rather than a treatment for your migraine pain. One analysis found that 38% of people with migraine had aggravated symptoms from physical activity. In the same analysis, professionals discovered that those with exercise-triggered migraines had neck pain as a front symptom during regular attacks.
Where to Find a Physical Therapist
Not all physical therapy skills will deliver suitable care for your migraine symptoms. It’s essential to examine your requirements with your primary doctor first. It would be most useful if you also did your study on physical therapists. As you dig for a specialist:
- Evaluate your desires and needs to ensure you see a provider that’s suitable for you.
- Ask queries if you’re uncertain about what they specialize in.
- Question about how much experience your provider bears.
- Ensure that your physical therapist is licensed.
- Search For a location that’s right for you.
- See the facility before and make sure you appreciate the atmosphere.
- If you want to utilize health insurance, ensure that the facility accepts your insurance.
Once you discover a physical therapist, you must convey your requirements to them. To obtain the finest results, you must speak up about what functions and what doesn’t. If you don’t feel that your physical therapist meets your requirements, there is nothing wrong with changing change providers.
All in all
Physical therapy offers a holistic and effective approach to treating headaches and migraines by addressing the underlying causes rather than just the symptoms. Through personalized exercises, manual therapy, and posture correction, physical therapists can alleviate muscle tension, improve blood flow, and reduce the frequency and intensity of headaches. Whether triggered by stress, poor posture, or neck issues, physical therapy provides long-term relief, empowering you to take control of your health and live a life free from debilitating pain.
Tags: Physical Therapy for Migraines, Physical Therapy for migraines & headaches
