Conditions – Headaches
Headaches can be caused by a wide range of factors, a number of which can be aided via physiotherapy treatment. If left untreated, headaches can cause significant discomfort and drastically decrease your quality of life.
At our clinics in Thirroul and Woonona, Purpose Physiotherapy has a team of experienced physiotherapists who will ask you a number of questions and perform various tests to determine the type of headache you are experiencing and if physiotherapy is the most appropriate treatment. If we believe it is, our approach to helping you overcome your headaches is as follows:
- Comprehensive assessment to determine both the diagnosis and the root causes (we may use imaging/scans where necessary).
- Tests and measurements to ensure we monitor progress and improvements.
- Holistic view of your entire body, including posture, alignment, mobility, strength, sleep, stress, nutrition and your nervous system.
- Treatment plan that relieves pain and targets the root causes, including massage, joint manipulation, dry-needling, exercise programs (core strength, Pilates and movement retraining) and education. This plan will specifically target your individual goals.
- Ongoing prevention options through clinical Pilates and small-group exercise.
By taking this approach, our team will get you not only moving with Purpose, but living with Purpose as well.
Headache FAQ's
- Cervicogenic headaches are caused by dysfunction in the structures of the neck, such as the muscles, joints, ligaments, or nerves. The pain usually radiates from the neck to the head and can be felt on one or both sides of the head.
- Migraines, on the other hand, are caused by changes in the brain, involving alterations in the activity of nerve cells, blood vessels, and chemicals in the brain. Migraine headaches are usually a throbbing or pulsing pain on one side of the head, and can be accompanied by a variety of other symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound.
- Purpose Physiotherapy can help with headaches in a variety of ways. We can assess the neck and spine for any underlying causes of the headache and offer treatment such as manual therapy (soft tissue massage, joint mobilization, etc.), postural education, and exercises to help address these causes.
- We may also offer advice on ergonomic modifications and lifestyle changes to reduce the intensity and frequency of headaches.
