No doubt you are familiar with the onset of a headache. Most of us suffer from them due to the sedentary nature of our working lives.
At Sportsmed NQ, your physiotherapist can help to alleviate this pain with hands-on treatment combined with exercise therapy and general advice as to how to minimise the load on your neck. Our head weighs around 6-8 kg so therefore our neck muscles need to be able to support this heavy load throughout the day. This is compounded by the fact that nowadays, we tend to spend increasing amounts of time with our head either jutting forward or looking down, particularly when working at computer screens.
This is one of the main reasons for the increase in headaches, neck and shoulder pain in our modern day society.
Common Causes
- Poor posture during the day or while sleeping.
- Repetitive overuse
- Trauma (e.g. whiplash injury, a blow to the head in sport, or a fall)
- Teeth grinding when sleeping
- Weak neck muscles
- Emotional stress
- Poor diet
- Lack of cardiovascular fitness
How to avoid them
- Maintain a good ergonomic setup off your computer
- Avoid sitting for long periods (maximum of 45 minutes at a time)
- Avoid sleeping on your tummy
- Avoid grinding your teeth while asleep
- Maintain a good head posture by elongating the back of your neck and tucking your chin in
- Drink plenty of water!
We are here to help you decrease your headaches, neck and shoulder pain. Contact us for a consultation today.