Migraines & Headaches: How Physical Therapy Can Bring Relief

Migraines and headaches can be severe and debilitating, limiting a person’s quality of life, daily activities, and work ability. Migraine and headache sufferers often experience neck pain, tension, stiffness, and discomfort along with the headache and migraine. Physical therapists can help relieve migraine and headache pain without medication and address the underlying musculoskeletal impairments that contribute to the migraine and headache. 

What causes migraines and headaches?

Headaches affect half of all adults globally and migraines are the third most prevalent illness worldwide.

Migraine: A migraine is a central nervous system disorder that typically manifests as a severe throbbing recurring pain, usually on one side of the head. 

Tension-Type Headaches (TTH): TTH is the most common headache disorder and can be episodic (less than 15 days a month) or chronic (more than 15 days a month). The trigger for TTH is often stress-related or associated with a musculoskeletal impairment. Those suffering from headaches often suffer from sensitivity to touch in the affected area, which can be treated through myofascial release.

Migraines and headaches can be triggered and intensified by referring pain from tense muscles in the cervical region of the head, neck, and shoulders. Cervicogenic headaches stem from the cervical spine (neck), radiating into the head and causing neck pain, muscle tenderness, shoulder or arm pain on the same side of the headache, and dizziness. It can result from stiff joints in the neck, soft tissue tightness, and nerve irritation.

How can physical therapy relieve and treat migraines and headaches? 

The muscles and joints of the neck can refer pain to the head that contributes to and triggers headaches and migraines. Physical therapists are trained to treat musculoskeletal impairments in the body and reduce stress and tension in soft tissues and joints. A physical therapist can restore mobility to the joints of the cervical spine that refer pain and correct muscle imbalances and poor posture that also contribute to pain. Manual and exercise therapy can restore spinal alignment, strengthen muscles that support the neck and shoulder, restore range of motion of the neck, and help patients improve posture as well.

At Mangiarelli Rehabilitation, our PTA Patti Ciferno performs myofascial release, which helps treat patients suffering from migraines and headaches. Myofascial release (MFR) is a hands-on technique involving gentle sustained pressure into the myo-fascial connective tissues to help decrease pain and restore motion. Fascia is thin connective tissue that surround the muscles, blood vessels, nerves, and organs. When fascia is healthy, it is flexible and supports the body’s structures. When experiencing inflammation or injury however, the fascia becomes restricted, not allowing the tissue to move correctly. Myofascial release, using gentle sustained pressure to an affected area, helps relieve stress, restoring fascial elasticity, oxygen, blood flow, and lymphatic circulation. This then decreases and can abolish the pain a patient is experiencing from a migraine or headache.

Call Mangiarelli Rehabilitation today for treatment, support, and relief from headache and migraine pain!