Headaches are a fairly common complaint in Allison Park, Pennsylvania, but most people who experience them only have headaches once in a while. Others might be dealing with mild headaches on a daily basis. If this is the case, you’re likely dealing with chronic tension headaches.
What is a chronic tension headache?
Tension headaches develop when muscles in the back of your neck become overly tight. The muscles involved are called the suboccipital muscles, and they run between the top of the neck and the base of the skull.
A tension headache typically lasts for 24 hours or less. However, these headaches can become an everyday problem for some people. At this point, you’re likely dealing with a chronic tension headache problem. Chronic headaches are those that occur at least 15 days per month, and they must also happen for at least three months in a row.
Three factors that can contribute to chronic tension headaches
Both occasional and chronic tension headaches can be triggered by various factors. In fact, there’s a long list of factors that can cause the suboccipital muscles to tighten up and set off a tension headache. Three factors are more common than the others:
- Stress — Psychological stress can have profound effects on the body. In many people, it can lead to increased muscle tightness, and it also causes the body to produce more inflammatory chemicals.
- Dehydration — Muscles that aren’t properly hydrated are typically less flexible. This lack of flexibility could be the trigger for your daily tension headaches, but you can reduce this risk by drinking enough water every day. For most people, at least 64 ounces of water per day is recommended.
- Posture — Sitting with your head bent forward is common in this age of smart tablets and cellphones. Yet this type of posture places strain on your neck muscles, and the strain caused by using this posture every day can cause muscle tightness. In turn, this can lead to those daily tension headaches you’ve been having.
Panther Physical Therapy can help Allison Park, PA, resident with chronic tension headaches
Do you deal with mild tension headaches almost every day? Our team at Panther Physical Therapy can help you find relief. One of our free screenings can help you learn the cause of your headache problem, and we can build you an individualized treatment plan that’s intended to help reduce your symptoms. Your plan will gain its strength from beneficial therapy techniques such as:
- Graston Technique®
- Therapeutic exercises
- Manual therapy
- Electrical stimulation
- Trigger point therapy
Don’t wait to start treating the cause of your headaches. Contact us today for more information about how we can help or to schedule an appointment.