Headache – No More A Reason For Worry

The hectic and restless lifestyle patterns have led to headaches becoming a common problem. It is not only a major problem in India as well as in other developed countries. It is a painful sensation that can be disturbing for a person. The area of the skull and brain with the skin, tissues, and blood arteries, as well as the nerves, can all become inflamed and irritated. But this can be treated with a conservative approach to physical therapy.

Types

Headache can be of various types. It can be dull, sharp, or pinching, throbbing, squeezing, episodic, or a constant. Its variety also depends upon the amount of time since it has occurred. The headache caused by a short period of time or which is having a few episodes per year can be acute. Whilst the one which is constant and is long-standing for one or two days on commencement can be a chronic condition that can be notified to the physician.

Cause

• Stress- A constant working life with an immense amount of workload can cause a person to feel tired and drained out. Which can ultimately cause pain.
• Posture Irregularity- People working on screens throughout the day can have pain that can be radiating from head to neck to back and shoulders. Moreover, the light can also lead to pain in the eyes as well as the head.
• Hypertension- The increase in blood pressure can increase the load and result in headaches.
• Depression and Anxiety- Mental health is now causing awareness amongst the people. People suffering from depression can show adjunct with the headaches, fatigue, malaise, less hunger, and lack of work enjoyment
• Fasting- Decrease in the blood glucose due to fasting also decreases the blood flow to the head, as well as dehydration, may also be a reason for it. 

These days many types of headaches have surfaced.

MIGRAINE HEADACHE 

These are the most common types seen among the population. This type is not only common among adults as well as youth. It is commonly noticed as a one-sided headache but not necessarily it can be both-sided also in some cases. Changes in the blood flow to the head can be a reason. People with migraines tend to have certain trigger causes, such as sunlight, sleeplessness, or any other depending upon case to case. It is the most toxic type.

CLUSTER HEADACHE

As the name suggests, it occurs for episodes inclusive of days to weeks with an interval of no headache experienced. The episodes can be of short duration with a long-standing gap in between. Also, the person might wake up from sleep in the middle of the night representing a classic symptom of cluster headache. The cause for this type can be the release of Histamine and Serotonin. It can be familial and can have an uncertain cause.

TENSION HEADACHE

This is also commonly noticed, occurring due to stress, impaired sleeping patterns. Overworking and overstraining the eye can cause headaches. There can be no trigger for it. It can be accompanied by nausea and vomiting. It can be mild or highly intense. It is commonly known as a stress headache.

The physical therapist can be the one you can turn to for getting rid of any type of headache. It is the most vital way of getting rid of the pain from its root cause.

How does the physical therapist diagnose the condition?

The physical therapist carries out a well-versed case history of the patient which helps to determine the type of headache the person experiences. The physical therapist asks 

The patient to carry out an MRI, X-ray as well as CT-scan for ruling out the possible reasons for it. The physical therapist also checks for the cervical range of motion, mobilization, pain range with its intensity and frequency. Also, the stiffness of the muscles of the neck and shoulder are taken into consideration.

WHAT CAN BE THE TREATMENT PLAN?

• Cervical exercise- It is the most basic and the first step toward the pain resolving procedure. It is an exercise which one can do in the comfort of their own homes. Like neck rotations, neck tilting, and extensions.
• Relaxation technique
• Massage – The physical therapist finds out the trigger points for a person, which helps the therapist release the area’s tension. The physical therapist does this with the help of basic finger strokes over the painful regions of the head.
• Postural exercise- Various posture training exercises like cat-cow, plank, chest opener, and child pose are being spoken of, which helps one often re-established the balance and stability of the patients.
• Thermotherapy- While it cannot be confirmed that one should go for heat therapy or cold therapy as it differs from case to case, the science behind it can be explained. The heat-on getting applied causes pain relief stimulating the nerve ending thus causing reduction of pain. The cold therapy just causes the numbing effect thus giving relief to the patient.
• Stretching- The neck muscles can help to regain the elasticity of the muscle while reducing the irregular distribution of the pressure over the head.
• Cranio cervical technique-  It is the flexion exercises that activate the deep muscles of the neck. It contains a set of various exercises, after carrying out the tests. They improve motor dysfunction and reduce pain intensity.

Conclusion 

your physical therapist can be a go-to health professional for all your headache-related complaints. Various therapies have been proposed to help the patient get relieved of their pain. The physical therapist helps one to restore life and balance. They rehabilitate all the health-related issues.