7 Ways To Relieve Tension Headaches At Home

Let’s not dress it up, headaches can be horrible. They can be very debilitating, causing you to to stop what you’re doing and rest or perhaps resort to taking a paracetamol. One of the problems with relieving headaches is that there are so many different causes of headaches and each one will require a different treatment / remedy. By far the most common are the tension headaches. In this article I’m going to show you my top 7 ways in which you get relief from a tension headache without the need for drugs from the comfort of your own home. You can also watch this video below:

7 Steps For Relieving Tension Headaches

Hydration

This may seem like an obvious one but it’s always worth ruling it out as it’s so easy to fix. Whenever you feel a headache coming on, drink lots and lots of water to make sure that’s not the reason. And if it is, then great you’ve just fixed your headache.

Try Coffee

This may seem like an odd one as coffee withdrawal can sometimes be the cause of headaches, so certainly in that case I wouldn’t advise coffee. However you may have noticed that you can buy paracetamol mixed with caffeine. Why? Because caffeine has some great pain killing properties especially when it comes to tension headaches. One of the mechanisms of headaches (especially migraines) is the dilation of blood vessels in your head which causes a pain response. Coffee, due to it’s sympathetic stimulating effects, causes a narrowing of those blood vessels and thus can negate the headache.

Walking

Although you may not feel like going for a walk, quite often this can actually help the headache in the long term especially if the cause of the problem is from sitting at a desk all day with your head forward. Going for a walk can loosen up the spine, neck and relieve some of the tension from your muscles around the neck. Don’t forget, the spine is designed to move and therefore if you have been very sedentary prior to the headache coming on, then this may have contributed to the problem.

Sit Up

One of the most common reasons why people develop tension headaches is due to their sedentary and poor posture lifestyle. Essentially, the further forward your head sits when you’re working at the desk, the more stress and strain on the joints and muscles of your neck. This isn’t necessarily a problem if you’re only at the desk for short periods, but if you’re there for hours everyday then eventually this will cause a problem and can lead to headaches. Therefore by simply ensuring that your head is positioned over your shoulders (i.e. not forwards), you can significantly reduce the tension in your neck and thus relieve your headache.

Lie Down

By lying down, you can almost completely relax the muscles of your neck and thus give them a chance to recover. Particularly if the headaches are bad and not relieved by other methods, then this can be a very effective way of relieving the headache if indeed it is a tension headache.

Upper Traps Stretch

The upper traps are the two large and most superficial muscles that cover the sides of your neck and top of your shoulders. These are probably the most common muscles to be effected with tension headaches and thus a way of getting some relief is by stretching this muscle. This is shown in the the video above.

Heat

When it comes to heat and ice, heat is generally very good for helping muscles recover due to it’s ability to increase blood flow to the muscle. You can apply a heat pack (covered in a towel) over the sides of your neck and top of your shoulders.

If you suffer with regular headaches then my best advise would be to consult with a Chiropractor who can assess you properly, find out what is causing your headaches and apply the best treatment for you. It is essential however to always ensure you get rid of what caused the problem in the first place. Most commonly this is posture / desk posture. If you want to see how you can improve your desk posture, then watch my video below. If you would like to book a consultation with Dr Hulme, click here to get in touch.