These headache relief treatments are stretches and exercises that can help relieve headache pain caused by tension, stiffness, and tight muscles in the neck and shoulders.
Headaches can come in many forms. They can be tension headaches, migraine headaches, cluster headaches, and cervicogenic headaches.
Cervicogenic headaches are often misdiagnosed as migraine headaches. The main difference is that a migraine headache is rooted in the brain (usually a chemical imbalance), and a cervicogenic headache is rooted in the cervical spine or base of the skull region (usually a mechanical issue or dysfunction).
The first movement is a chin tuck. These are a great way to reset your neck muscles, and get your head back into a good posture. You can also do these lying down or against a wall, so you have something to push into like an isometric exercise.
Next, you can use a foam roll under your neck, but a little higher up around the C2 vertebrae. Once you get it in place, gently rotating your head side to side will help mobilize it.
Then there are scapular or shoulder squeezes, a chest stretch, and thoracic mobilizations. These are great to help open up your chest area, and keep the thoracic spine strong. If the thoracic spine is not working correctly, it can cause headaches as well.
Finally you will use a towel to help you stretch. SNAGS (Sustained Natural Apophyseal Glides) help mobilize the neck, and work great when you have a lot of stiffness and help relieve headaches.
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