Headache & Neck Pain
Headache is most often caused by a combination of neck joint stiffness and muscle spasm of the neck- and upper back muscles. Some of the factors contributing to this are emotional stress, prolonged or repetitive incorrect posture (e.g. sitting at a desk or in the car), or traumatic injury (e.g. whiplash).
The treatment addresses all these aspects to eliminate or reduce pain, and includes various techniques which influence joints, muscles, nerves and connective tissue.
Dry needling is a western medicine technique which uses a thin, dry needle, without medication, to treat pain and dysfunction caused by muscle spasm and scarring. It is applied directly into the trigger point in the muscle to release the spasm. It is only applied with the consent of the patient.
Lymph Drainage Therapy and Cranio-Sacral Therapy are methods used especially in very acute, painful conditions; or where emotional factors are a contributing factor. It is gentle, relaxing treatments which work via the autonomic nervous system to inhibit/reduce the sympathetic (“fright, flight and fight”) system and to facilitate/stimulate the parasympathetic (relaxing, calming, endorphin-secreting) system.
Cervical(neck)- or tension type headaches are often very severe and may be associated with visual disturbances, nausea and ear symptoms. These symptoms are not exclusive to migraine, although cervical headaches and migraine often co-exist. In such instances the cervical component can be effectively treated to reduce the pain intensity.
In addition to the above-mentioned causes neck pain may also be due to sprains or strains of the small joints in the neck and disc prolapse. In the absence of serious damage to the neck it usually responds quickly to treatment to restore your quality of life. Effective pain relief and -management is possible with a disc prolapse.