If headaches are getting in the way of your life, you’re not alone. Many of the patients we see at Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine in Alexandria and Springfield, VA are struggling just like you and want to get rid of headaches.
If you’re having headaches, you probably find that simple things like working on the computer and sleeping are painful. You can’t think well and feel tired all the time. and You may also be grumpy and irritable with friends and family.
If any of these sound familiar to you, then you need a way to get rid of headaches and get your life back again.
To get rid of headaches, you really need to know what is causing them. Many of the headaches we treat are caused by neck muscles that refer pain to the head.
These neck muscles work hard every day to hold your head optimally so your eyes can see what they need to. When your head is held in bad positions for long periods of time, these muscles can get overworked and strained.
Fortunately there are 3 easy things you can do to help get rid of headaches.
Tall Sitting
Tall sitting can get you out of bad posture can reset some of the neck muscles that cause headaches. This can prevent long term pain.
To do this correctly, just try to think about lengthening your spine. Your upper back will get straighter and your chin will come closer to your neck.
You don’t need to try to hold this position all day long. Do a few reps every hour as a re-set to keep yourself from staying slumped over all day.
If you work at a computer all day, many computer setups encourage a head forward posture. Changing your computer setup so that it encourages you to be in a tall sitting position can help to reverse this and help you get rid of headaches.
Chin Tuck with Head lift
Weakness of your neck muscles can make it easier for them to get overused and cause neck pain. This exercise builds strength and endurance of these muscles.
You don’t need to lie on a fancy table like this video shows. You can do this lying on your bed or on the floor.
Tuck your chin into your neck, lift your head just 1 inch off the floor. Hold for 5 seconds and then lower it back down.
The most important part is to keep your chin tucked into your neck the entire way through the lift, hold, and lower. If you can’t do it, you need to start by just tucking the chin without lifting your head.
Tall Kneeling Trunk Rotation
This a great exercise to do to break up your day if you are sitting at a computer for work.
It can help to loosen your shoulder and chest muscles as well as turn on some of the upper back muscles that shut off when you sit for awhile.
You can do this exercise standing or kneeling. The key to the exercise is to keep your hips pushed forward and your chest opened up the entire time you are turning your trunk.
You should feel this working in your butt muscles and upper back.
None of the exercises above should make you hurt more.
If you’ve tried these and you’re still hurting, we can help you!
At Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine, our physical therapists are experts at treating headaches and will develop a plan to help you stop it.
Call us at 703-299-3111, or click here to request and appointment.
A member of our team will schedule you an appointment with one of our expert physical therapists.
What happens if you don’t try have a plan to get rid of headaches?
- Your work days are miserable because your head hurts
- Your head hurts and you wake up tired because you aren’t sleeping well
- You easily get angry with friends and family because your head hurts all the time
But WITH a plan to get rid of headaches you can live the life you want again.
The exercises above are a great way to get started. They don’t require a ton of time and are pretty easy to do correctly.
But if you want an expert to listen to your unique problems and guide you to success, a Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine physical therapist at our Alexandria or Springfield, VA locations will create a plan specifically for you.
You’ll feel confident that you’re able to top getting headaches and do all the things you want.
Call us at 703-299-3111, or click here to schedule your appointment and start your path to healing.
Working to keep you living your best life,
The Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Team
