Are you one of the MILLIONS of people who struggle with either headaches or migraines?
Wait, there's a difference?
Oh Yes - There is absolutely a difference in a headache versus a migraine. And on top of that, there are actually 14 different types of headaches! And each type of headache can have up to 10 subtypes - that means that the "ache in your head" may not even be a migraine.
In fact, the sole source of your headache is most likely is NOT a true isolated migraine. But because migraine medication is big business, most headaches over the past decade are haphazardly diagnosed as a migraine and migraine medications are
prescribed and your symptoms may or may not improve.
So what are the other types of headaches then?
The heavy hitters are cervicogenic headache and tension type headaches. But let's focus on cervicogenic - which translates to a headache that starts because of a neck issue.
We already know that neck pain is an epidemic in this country. Is this due to of increased time working at a computer, increased time scrolling on our cell phone, or our long commute to and from work? And what does this have to do with a headache?
We can get super dense with this connection between headache and neck pain, but that's not my intent here. So I'll break this down nice and generally.
Your neck directly connects to your head at the back of your head (you already know the spot - the tender spots to the right and left of the base of the head) And at this spot, there are a ton of muscles and nerves that travel to and from your neck, head, and face. This can lead to one-sided pain to the back of your head, eyes, temples, ears, and forehead.
Most importantly, because the underlying cause of your headache is potentially the neck, and not a scary migraine (or the other 12 types), the headache symptoms you are experiencing can be successfully treated by a skilled Physical Therapist.
This is why we perform thorough and in depth assessments with our patients. This makes certain that we understand the root cause of your headache and can provide research proven treatments for you - without overuse of medications.
Give us a call at Flow Physical Therapy and Wellness in The Woodlands, Texas, if you have been struggling with "migraines" and your migraine medication just doesn't really seem to fully address your symptoms - because you may not be dealing with migraines after all.
Dr. Patrick Thompson, PT, DPT, OCS, Cert. DN
Owner of Flow Physical Therapy and Wellness
832.299.5447