10 Tips To Help Relief Tension Headaches

Tension headaches are among the most common types of headaches. This kind of headache occurs when the neck, shoulder, and scalp muscles become tense or contract, causing a pain that feels like a band is squeezing the head or a dull tightness. This muscle contraction is often a response to physical and emotional stress, anxiety, depression, overexertion, eye strain, and sleep problems, among other triggers.

Whether you get tension headaches only from time to time or more often than that, regardless of how long each episode lasts, you can treat the symptoms right away and prevent recurrence with the following two primary strategies.

1. Chiropractic Care

2. Lifestyle Changes and Home Remedies

In addition to spinal alignment, your chiropractor will help you identify triggers and recommend easy-to-follow care tips to relieve and help prevent tension headaches.



• Keep Your Stress Levels in Check
  
  Avoid stress. This may mean being more organized with your daily activities and avoiding situations that trigger emotional stress altogether. Actively manage your stress with simple massages, yoga, deep breathing exercises, and other relaxation techniques. Take some time at the end of each day to destress. 

• Get Enough Sleep
  
  Ensure you get enough restful sleep each night, as insomnia and other sleep problems can trigger tension headaches. Practice going to bed and waking up at the same time each day. Also, watch how you sleep. Sleep on your side or back through the night and keep your neck in a neutral posture for the best results.

• Limit Your Caffeine Intake
  
  Heavy caffeine use, typically more than four cups a day, increases the risk of headaches. Also, avoid taking any caffeinated drink or medication in the hours leading to your bedtime to avoid insomnia which may trigger the headache.

• Maintain a Healthy Diet and Good Eating Habits
  
  Pack your plate with high-nutrient foods and drink a lot of water each day. Ensure you eat on a regular schedule and avoid skipping meals.



• Exercise and Stretch Regularly
  
  Exercising and stretching your muscles release pain-blocking chemicals. Walking, cycling, swimming, and other forms of exercise will help relieve tension headaches. As tempting as it may be, avoid going too hard, as intense exercise may only trigger different kinds of headaches.

• Mind Your Posture
  
  Maintaining a good posture will help avoid muscle tension. Keep your head level and your shoulders back when standing. When seated, avoid slumping your head forward and ensure you keep your thighs parallel to the ground.

• Hot or Cold Therapy
  
  A warm compress, hot towel, heating pad, or hot-water bottle can ease sore muscles, relieving tension headaches. Taking a warm shower or bath may also help. Similarly, cold therapy by pressing an ice pack wrapped in a cloth over the tense muscles will provide relief.

• Consider Quitting Smoking
  
  Nicotine reduces blood flow to the brain and triggers a reaction in the nerves found at the back of your throat. Both may lead to a headache, and quitting, or at the very least reducing your smoking, can help manage your headaches.
  

Get Help

There are alternatives to pharmaceutical management of tension headaches. Contact chiropractors and physical therapists in Willowbrook, IL, for safe and effective care for tension headaches and recommendations of the best self-care strategies that offer a long-term solution.