Headache & Stiff Neck
Where does your Head Ache? That is the question I ask people who come into my Pittsburgh office
complaining of a headache. A common sarcastic reply is, I just told you it’s a headache – its in my head. I
then reply that the reason for the question is that trigger points in different muscles send pain to different
parts of the head. It is always a good thing to have a doctor evaluate you for severe or recurrent headaches to
make sure that something more severe that the pain is not causing your headache.
Here are a few of the many Headaches that often have a muscular cause or component to them:
Facial Headaches – there are trigger points in muscles that cause referred pain to the cheek. Some of these
muscles are in the cheek. The big culprits are in the neck. There is even a muscle in your calf that can send
a pain to your cheek!
Top of the Headache – there are 2 primary muscles that cause this pain. They are both in the neck. It can
also come from muscles in the bottom of your feet and in your back and legs.
Ear and Jaw Pain – muscles in both the face and neck can contribute to this pain.
Migraine Headache – I saw a description once of a Babylonian concept of a headache. It had arrows
piercing the head and hammers and clubs whacking it. They pretty much have the feeling down. I have never
seen a migraine that did not have a substantial muscle component.
Back of Head Pain – You would probably not guess that a major cause of this pain can come from the
middle of your back. It does! There are major contributions from the neck muscles containing trigger points
as well. These points can make it impossible to lay the back of your head on a pillow.
Forehead Pain – this irritating pain often has its roots in trigger points in the neck, jaw, and face. But don’t be
fooled – the muscles in the back of your legs and feet can be involved!
Eye and Eyebrow Pain-These headaches are right behind the eye. They are the type that I found most
distressing and are the ones that drove me to become a therapist. There are at least 2 muscles that are
connected with this headache.
Helping Headaches
In helping Headaches with trigger point therapy there are some unusual things that need to be considered in
treatment.
Posture
The first is the fact that muscles can be irritated by poor posture. The way this works out in treatment is that
the session begins with evaluating posture. It is not uncommon to see headaches disappear with no
treatment to the head or neck.
When a person has a pelvis that tips forward or flat feet the shoulders often fall forward and the head sticks
out. It seems like an implosion of the body – a curling into a ball while standing up. Simply working on the
muscles that create the posture appears to eliminate some of the stress on the head and the neck.
It is rare that I see a person with chronic headache who does not have a postural component to the pain. The
headaches come back if the posture is not addressed. It is imperative that the muscles learn to stay
lengthened. You teach them to do this by stretching them regularly.
Ergonomics
The way we habitually use our muscles at work or rest often leaves them in a shortened position. This
shortening often causes the trigger points to activate and cause their pain patterns. It is often essential to
learn new habits to keep the pain away.
Self Treatment
Most people with chronic headaches need to learn how to treat their own trigger points. We teach them to do
this in Pittsburgh. The treatment is a combination of pressure and stretching. We want you to have the tools
to help yourself.
Perpetuating Factors
Many things can perpetuate headaches. We like to look for these and make sure you get steered to the right
professional to get the help you need. Other disciplines and modalities such as Neurofeedback, Frequency
Specific Microcurrent, Personal training, dentistry, Physical Therapy, and Chiropractic may be needed to help
you along your path to wellness.
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