Avoiding headaches due to muscle tension
As a registered massage therapist I see a great number of young people suffering from chronic headaches. Initially parents think the worst, fearing that there is some underlying sinister cause such as a brain tumour. This is rarely the case.
How Muscles Work: The job of muscle is to move bone. Muscles cross the joints of the body and contract (or get shorter) causing the skeleton to move. Repetitive movement of muscles against a force such as gravity (or water in the case of swimmers) can cause muscle tension.
Other causes include holding the muscle in one position when using the computer, playing video games, or carrying heavy backpacks.
There are several muscles that cross the shoulder and neck that will, when tense, cause very specific headaches. Some neck muscles also refer pain into the chest, back and arm. Older people sometimes are afraid that they are having a heart attack with this type of pain.
Oh, Those Nasty Knots: Many of you have heard the term “knots” when discussing muscle pain. These knots are called trigger points. They are bits of muscle that are not getting enough oxygen. The lack of oxygen is a result of poor blood circulation through the tight muscle. When this happens it is common to get a tension headache. These headaches are rarely helped by the use of analgesics (Tylenol or Ibuprofen). They do respond well to massage.
Trigger points and their referred pain can occur anywhere in the body but this article will focus on the neck and head, as it is one of the more problematic areas for most people.
How To Avoid Getting Trigger Points: The easiest way is to keep warm. You already know from other articles about warming up and cooling down. This is great. But once you’ve finished your swim for the day, walking outside (especially now that the weather is cooler) without your neck covered is really asking for trouble.
Wear a Scarf! As soon as we go outdoors and the air is cool the body’s automatic response is to pull the shoulders up and shiver. Shivering is the body’s way of creating heat. In order to shiver the muscles must contract and relax thousands of times. This creates muscle tension and – you got it – trigger points! In the summer having air conditioning blowing on your neck is also a risk.
How to Identify a Trigger Point: OK. So let’s say that you have a headache which starts at the base of your neck where it meets your shoulder, runs up your head over your ear like a backwards question mark and settles over your eye. You may feel like you’re coming down with a sinus infection. You may feel like you’re operating in a bit of a fog. Now get someone to squeeze your shoulder – or do it yourself. Does the pain in your head get worse? If so you have a trigger point headache. The muscle that you squeeze will hurt too. Feel all the muscles in your neck. There are a lot of them. Do you feel pain anywhere else?
Now What? At this stage you might need professional help, ask your doctor, massage therapy is often the best choice for muscle problems. A professional trained massage therapist can release the trigger points, do massage to improve the circulation and teach you how to maintain the health of your muscles to avoid future problems.
Brenda Scott, Registered Massage Therapist is at 712 Davis Drive, Newmarket, 905 895 8516
