Headaches often times stem from the neck. If you're not dehydrated, or have some other medical reason for getting them, then you should expect to only have a headache a couple times a year at most. For many of us, that's just not the case. Coming to understand that headaches are more often than not created from tension will help you to alleviate them. From what I've learned, the number one culprit for headaches is the Sternocleidomastoid muscles within the Neck.
Sternocleidomastoid
They're the muscle in the neck, one on each side, that start just behind the jaw and below the ear, and go all the way down creating the cupped or indented area right above where the collar bones connect to the top of the sternum. If you turn your head while looking in a mirror, you can see them running up the sides of your neck as long tubular muscles. The Sternocleidomastoids (or SCM's for short) rarely have any pain in them. Trigger points within them cause all kinds of symptoms though, including:
- Headaches in the back of the head
- Headaches on the sides of the head
- Blurry or tunnel vision
- Allergies
- Jaw pain (TMJ like jaw pain even)
- Ear pain
- Dizziness, Vertigo
Tension in the SCM's, or lack of blood flow, create trigger points but can be easily alleviated with message, or better yet with Sarno's TMS method. It's also important to note, that one muscle group in particular usually causes the SCM's to become problematic when it tires out. That muscle is the Trapezoid muscle.
Trapezoid
The Trapezoid muscle is the diamond shaped muscle that runs up the back (from about the mid point), over the scapula on each side, then continuing up to the top of the neck in the back. They become a prime area of tension. When they tire (from tension), the weight of the head is referred to the SCM's to do the job, but they often tire as well. They can also be causing the headaches you're getting in the back of your head. If you pay attention to these muscles, you can often fix the problems associated with the SCM's at the same time without devoting any attention to them. First, I suggest reading the The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook: Your Self-Treatment Guide for Pain Relief, Second Edition as I've listed in the recommended book section, and then Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection to understand TMS. For fast relief however, here are some quick tips.
- Use elbow support (arm rests) in an appropriate manner while using the computer. A simple change in your work habits may make a big difference.
- Sleep with your hands below your eyes. Sleeping with your hands/arms above your head creates a stretch in the Trapezoid muscle, and blood deprivation is created in the arms. As hard as the habit may be to break, stick to the rule of sleeping with your arms down, hands below eye level. Sleeping on your back or sides is good.
Oxygen deprivation/Tension in the Trapezoid also causes a lot of neck pain. From the Trigger Point Therapy Workbook we learn that the pain is referred from the Trapezoid muscle up to the neck and even the head. If you're experiencing Neck aches, look first to the Trapezoid muscle.
I could talk about posture, as it is important for overall health, but read Sarno for further details and you'll see great improvements without having to worry about posture in regards to RSI symptoms.
