Researchers estimate that 50-75% of adults worldwide have had a headache in the past year. Headache pain can sideline you from life and cause even simple, everyday tasks to become a challenge.
If you’re one of the millions of people who have frequent headaches, the team at Johnson Medical Center in Venice, Florida, has good news for you. Physical therapy can provide relief from headache pain and help keep it from coming back, all without the side effects many headache medications can bring.
Led by Dr. Jeffrey Johnson, our team uses an integrative approach to treat the causes of headaches, so patients can get back to living life fully.
All about headaches
In general, headache symptoms can feel like aching, throbbing, stabbing sensations, or pressure. Furthermore, the symptoms can range from mild to severe.
People often describe feeling headaches in their temples, forehead, and back of the neck or head. The duration of headache pain can vary drastically, from minutes to weeks, depending on the cause. It can be difficult to identify the cause as headaches can have many triggers.
Some of the most common headaches are the following:
- Cervicogenic headaches, which are due to issues with muscles in the neck
- Tension headaches, which are usually due to stress, strain, or anxiety
- Migraine headaches, which can have many triggers
- Cluster headaches, which occur on one side and come in groups (clusters)
- Chiari headaches, which are due to a congenital birth defect
- Sinus headaches, which are due to infections or pressure in the sinuses
You can also get a headache from not eating or drinking enough, lack of sleep, or from an injury. Sometimes the cause or trigger for a headache can’t be identified. These types of headaches are called unspecified headaches.
What is physical therapy?
Physical therapy is a branch of health care committed to alleviating pain, restoring normal functioning and mobility, and promoting healthy activity. At Johnson Medical Center, our team incorporates chiropractic care and regenerative medicine to provide our patients with an integrative approach to pain relief and pain management.
Physical therapists treat many conditions using different techniques. While our team helps patients suffering from injuries and chronic conditions, we also specialize in helping patients who suffer from headaches.
How can physical therapy prevent headaches?
At Johnson Medical Center, we’re committed to helping you say goodbye to headache pain naturally. We combine traditional physical therapy techniques with the latest in chiropractic care to provide relief.
Physical therapy is most effective at treating headaches caused by musculoskeletal issues, such as disc pathology, tightness and tension, problems with neck motion, poor posture, and problems with the shoulders or shoulder blades. By correcting these issues, we can help reduce or eliminate the resulting headaches. Physical therapy may also be able to help alleviate migraine headaches.
Before beginning treatment, your provider at Johnson Medical Center will conduct an evaluation to determine any issues that may be causing your headaches and create a customized treatment plan. Because each patient may have a different root cause for their headaches, different treatment options are considered for each case.
Some of the most common physical therapy modalities used to treat headache-related issues include the following:
- Applying heat or ice
- Mobilization of soft tissues
- Cervical traction
- Neck mobilization
- Neck stretches and strengthening
- Mid-back stretches and strengthening
- Muscle energy and release therapies
- Posture education and practice
- Work on body mechanics
One of the best parts about incorporating physical therapy as part of your treatment plan for headaches is that it doesn’t have the unwanted side effects and risks that can come with traditional headache medications.
By addressing the underlying cause of your headaches, the team at Johnson Medical Center can help them stay away, so you can get lasting relief.
If you’re tired of headache pain and want to learn more about how physical therapy can help you, book an appointment online or over the phone with Johnson Medical Center today.