When treating headaches a lot of people will reach for pain relieve such as paracetomol, aspirin or ibrophen. However persistent headaches may require an alternative treatment. Many people are turning to therapies that will complement or even replace, conventional treatments for their headaches. Osteopathy and Acupuncture are therapies that can help with headaches.
There is growing evidence that a significant proportion of headaches are influenced by the structures of the neck. There is also evidence that osteopathy can help this kind of headache.
Headaches from the neck
These are usually called cervico-genic headaches. For many people, headaches start as pain or tension at the top of the neck. Wear and tear of the upper joints of the neck or tightness of the muscles can cause referred pain to the head leading to headaches. When pain worsens, it may spread to the back of the head, the temples, the forehead, or behind the eyes. Moving the neck may increase the pain. People whose work involves being in the same posture for a long time, such as the use of computers, can suffer increased incidence of headaches. Often headaches which come from the neck are usually felt better by pressing the base of the skull, hairline
Try a different headache treatment
How osteopathy can help
When your doctor rules out other causes of headaches and it is coming from your neck osteopathy can help you.
A qualified and experienced osteopath can assess your neck to evaluate the contribution from your neck and or poor posture to your headache.
The osteopath uses various techniques to treat these type of headaches: Mobilisation and manipulation which improves the movement and quality of the tissues; muscles, ligaments and joints. Postural assessment and correction, to consider the postural and habitual causes of the problem. Advice and ergonomic education, as often a patient with long term headaches have work related postural issues. Functional and rehabilitative exercises.Lifestyle ;many people do not stop for a decent break during the day, do not drink enough fluid and even eat their lunch whilst they are working. All of these things need to be considered and changed to reduce the tiredness and stress which can often lead to headaches.
Osteopathy often relieves these type of headaches completely or at least reduce the intensity and frequency.
Acupuncture and the treatment of headaches and migraines
Headaches and migraines are common complaints and are notoriously difficult to treat effectively, and they can be the cause of a considerable amount of distress. Acupuncture has been used to treat a wide variety of headaches and the results obtained have been very encouraging. The published work suggests that between 65-95% of all headache sufferers obtain significant and long lasting pain relief from acupuncture treatment. Migraines seem to respond well, if not better than other types of headache. Acupuncture treatment may cause the headache to vanish completely, or occur with a markedly decreased intensity or frequency.
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Alan Netting would like to share his experience of acupuncture for the treatment of headaches:
“I cannot speak highly enough of the treatment that I received from Denise Callaghan! I had been suffering from an appalling tension headache continuously day and night for over a week and having tried all kinds of headache tablets had got no relief at all. The headache was preventing me from sleeping properly – and even when I did manage to nap, the pain was still present as soon as I awoke.
I was at my wits end and was desperate for a remedy. Having been a patient of Ms. Callaghan’s before for back problems, I remembered that she offered a range of services for all sorts of conditions and thought that this would definitely be worth trying. Two days after my first acupuncture session, the pain lifted for a morning and while the headache did subsequently return, after another session, the headache disappeared for an entire day (I know this doesn’t sound much, but when you have been suffering for about 12 days continuously, just a single day was a huge relief!). One more session two days later lifted the pain completely and (fingers crossed) the headache has not returned!
I do not offer this testimonial lightly, but I can honestly say that such a relatively short course of treatment has had a huge positive effect on my quality of life and sense of well-being.”
Testimonials
“I was always caught between Osteopathy and Physiotherapy as I didn?t know which was better- after receiving both, I have to say that it was the Osteopathy that got me back on track when I got whiplash after the car accident. Denise and her staff were so supportive and friendly I would definitely come back and send others here.”
Neil Marks
“After suffering with migraines for over twenty years and having all the conventional treatments with little success, I finally found Denise. In a relatively short space of time, with regular treatments I have noticed a vast improvement: with my migraines being less frequent and shorter lasting. It is a work in progress but not one I am willing to give up on.”
RAE VROOLJAK
“I think I can say that I have been a patient of yours for a long time and I had dizziness and headaches, and Cranial osteopathy has helped me a lot in overcoming those problems. The same applies to my son Luca, who use to get a migraine that would last 4 or 5 days, the treatment helped him in not getting the migraines, or if he has them, they do not last long.”
Giovanna Elkouby