Pain in the neck ~ Part 2

I wrote Part 1 two months ago, click here to read about steps you can take to prevent headaches. Eventually if you are like so many of us, one creeps into your body. So you got a headache. What now? You grab the OTC med's and pop a few. But after awhile, you need more of those pills to ease the pain and after all the reports on the news about various side effects, who really wants to take that stuff?

One thing that has been suggested to me for headaches is magnesium. Be sure to check with your doctor before taking additional supplements though. Personally it has helped me in preventing headaches and I even take less then suggested. A herb called butterbur is known to help with migraine headaches. Always remember to do your research before taking herbs, especially long term. I am not an advocate on taking any single herb long term and rarely take any single herb to begin with. In Chinese Medicine, herbs are prescibed in formula's only.

Got it in the sinuses? Try a drop or two of ravensara essential oil on the sinus cavities and a cool cloth. Have a partner push gently on the following acupoints: Bladder 2, Stomach 3, and Large Intestine 20.

More to come in the next post. For ex. headaches that present in the front of the head, or the sides of the head..... this time I won't wait so long to write the next part. Promise.

What a pain in the neck!

Headaches often start out as tension in the neck muscles. There are various kinds of headaches though from sinus headaches, cluster headaches, hormone headaches and migraines. Most of these tips to helping control headaches are geared towards tension headaches.

It is estimated that 45 million Americans suffer from these various headaches, many chronically. Of those, 28 million have migraines. 60% of children suffer occasionally from headaches. The cost on the work force? $50 million in missed work days and doctor visits.

One definition of a headache states "pain in the head". Tension headaches often start out with a stiff neck, achy occiput region (the area right below your skull on the back of the neck) or even tension in the jaw. Everyone has different area's that might get tight and later cause a headache. The best thing we can do is prevent this tension from invading our bodies. Any form of bodywork that we received regularly can help immensely as well as doing yoga, qi gong and/or meditation. In my line of work, I have discovered that people with poor posture seem to be prone to headaches.

Preventing headaches is key. As a sufferer of both tension and migraine headaches, I speak from my own experience. As I mentioned above, getting regular bodywork is essential. Not only does this help your muscles relax, you are retraining your body on how it should move in a healthy way. You are learning to relax our shoulders, not walk about with them at your ears. How often a client has bodywork is up to each individual. I suggest a few sessions as close together as possible. Ex. once a week. After those sessions are complete, an evaluation is done to see the progress. Most clients then find they can space sessions further apart. Personally I like to go for my sessions once a month.

I mention yoga, meditation and qi gong again. Any of these techniques will stretch and relax the body and mind. When we learn to breath properly, our bodies benefit greatly. I have found that doing qi gong every day has made a world of difference in how I feel and the lack of headaches I get.

Often the spine is out of whack and needs a chiropractor. Talk to some local friends and search out a chiropractor in your area.

Chinese medicine can be a great tool also. Part of the treatments I receive involve bodywork (tui na), acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicines. Finding a qualified Licensed acupuncturist is getting easier and often is covered by insurance plans. To find a practitioner near you, click on the link to the left for the NCCAOM.

In the second part of this article, I will offer some easy at home things you can do to prevent headaches and to ease them once they have infringed on your life.