Headaches are so common we tend to take the approach that they are just something we have to deal with even though for some of us they significantly impact our daily life. Knowing more about headaches can help us feel better.

There are 6 main types of headaches:

1. Migraine Headaches
2. Tension Headaches
3. Cluster Headaches
4. Sinus Headaches
5. Hormonal Headaches
6. Headaches from Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Different headaches have different causes.

Different Headaches Have Distinct Biological Causes

Migraine headaches are often confused with cluster headaches. Cluster headaches would normally include pain often behind one eye.

Tension headaches are highly treatable and the root cause can be muscular pain. More on that later.

Another cause of headaches can be vasodilation and vasoconstriction. This is when there is a widening or shrinking of blood vessels.

Sometimes, this headache can happen because the blood vessels in our head get wider or narrower, like when we eat ice cream too fast or cold plunge.

Hormone-Based Headaches

• Causes: Fluctuations in estrogen and progesterone.
• Treatment: Addressing hormonal balance. Consult a functional medicine doctor or a specialist.

A headache from a traumatic brain injury would be caused by a rock to your head, a stroke, or a fall where your head hit something hard. These are out of my scope and I highly recommend a neurologist if this happens.

Tension Headaches

• What Are They? These headaches often feel like a tight band around your head.
• Why Do They Happen? They can be caused by tight muscles in your head, neck, and jaw.

How to Feel Better

There are different ways to treat headaches. Medicines like ibuprofen or acetaminophen can help, but there are natural ways too!

It’s also in my scope of practice so that’s what we are going to mainly cover here.

Effective Natural Treatments

• Hydration: Many people suffer from a lack of proper hydration, minerals, and electrolytes. This is easily fixable.
• Electrolytes: Try using an electrolyte solution (we like LMNT) to balance your electrolytes and hydration.
• Minerals: Sodium, magnesium, and potassium are vital for nerve function. Ask your doctor to check these levels, or increase your intake of these nutrients and water.

Key take away: By starting the day with a glass of water before you do anything else, including drinking your coffee, you’re already on your way to proper hydration!

• Protein: Quality protein is essential for tissue repair, including brain tissue.
• Creatine Monohydrate: Helps with headache intensity and frequency, specifically tension headaches. Research and decide if this supplement is for you.
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids (EPA and DHA): Crucial for brain health. Balancing these can reduce headache intensity and frequency.
• Elimination Diet: Digestive distress can cause headaches. Identifying dietary triggers through an elimination diet may help.
• Deep Breath work: Deep breathing exercises aimed at hyper-oxygenating your central nervous system can also provide relief. Focus on slow, deep breaths to help calm your body and reduce the intensity of the headache.

The goal is to decompress and relax your body, allowing it to reset.

• Lymphatic Drainage: Another effective technique is lymphatic drainage for the face and neck. Gentle body work or using your fingers or tools like gua sha can help reduce inflammation and improve circulation in these areas.

By facilitating the drainage of lymphatic fluid, you can alleviate some of the pressure and pain associated with headaches. Incorporating these techniques into your routine can provide significant relief. I did a video on this over here!

A surprising study on Migraines!

I used to personally suffer from migraines and did a lot of research on it. I found one study in the late 90s that took 1,000 of the worst migraine sufferers and had them journal everything—what they ate, their activities, interactions, and feelings—for six months before a drug trial.

By the end of the six months, over 80% of these individuals no longer had migraines. The conclusion was that journaling helped them process stress constructively, which then eliminated the migraine triggers.

Can Pain Free Movement and Posture help?

Can tension headaches and migraines be minimized or eliminated using movement or changing external/physical habits? YES! Consider these strategies:

Pain-Free Movement:

Engaging in movements within your pain-free range is crucial.

Pain is your brain’s way of signaling that something is wrong, so it’s important to respect those limits.

Gentle movements, without pushing into pain, can help maintain mobility and prevent further issues.

Techniques like forward and backward neck movements, rotation while maintaining an upright posture, and side-to-side ear-to-shoulder exercises can be beneficial.

These exercises aim to decompress and strengthen the neck muscles, promoting better alignment and reducing headache triggers. More on this coming up in a future workshop in person and online!

• Improve your posture. This is the daily work of being aware of how you walk sit stand. This is learnable and I’m here to help you with it.
• Increase mobility and movement throughout the day. Small pain free movements as always.
• Avoid forward head posture, often caused by prolonged computer use or looking down at phones. Take breaks from your devices and actively reverse the forward head posture with my movement series in Pain Free Movement.
• Reversing patterns: Try a reverse hand grip hang! Go into extension of the spine, flexion of the shoulders with a reversed hand grip. This can be done with a reversed grip hang or some bridges.

These simple changes can profoundly affect your migraines.

Advanced Exercises:

As you progress, incorporating more advanced exercises like I’s, Y’s, and T’s against a wall or on the floor can further improve your neck strength and flexibility. Eventually, you can work up to extensions on an exercise ball and advanced moves like the wrestler’s bridge.

These exercises help to increase extension in your neck and spine, addressing some of the underlying causes of headaches. We can work on these together next time you come in or when you come to my workshops.

Case Study: Tim’s Migraines

Tim sat at a computer for hours and had classic tech neck with forward head posture. We worked on posture and strengthening exercises that took him in the opposite direction—extension of the spine and flexion of the shoulders.

By incorporating a few spinal decompression techniques we use at Sportbodywork he has not had headaches for over a decade. You can access the tools he used here!

Case Study: Jess’s Migraines

Jess struggled with migraines that lasted almost a whole month at times. Tricia at our office went over some of the strategies we use at Sportbodywork to treat headaches, she’s been applying these techniques to reduce the headaches and even eliminate them.

Jess found diet and minerals were also triggers. Frequent headaches can have multiple layers.

Movement is Medicine

Baseline exercise, movement, activity, and mobility can improve muscular tension to the degree that headaches are no longer triggered. Movement is a wonderful medicine with no side effects.

When in pain, keep movements pain-free to signal your brain that you’re paying attention, which can lead to greater ranges of motion and less tension.

Determining whether your headaches can be relieved by diet, hydration, or physical changes requires a bit of experimentation. Start with the easiest to implement changes and take it one step at a time.

Do you plan on trying any of these suggestions to eliminate or minimize the effects of tension headaches? What have you found that has helped your headaches?

Share over at Pain Free Movement or tell us in a reply.

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Stay hydrated, maintain a balanced diet, and be mindful of your posture for a headache-free life.

See you next week!