Health & Wellness The Newsletter About Your Health And Caring For Your Body
ALSO INSIDE: • Healthy Recipe • Patient Success Spotlight • Have You Met Your Annual Insurance Deductible? • Exercise Essentials • Free Neck Pain Screening
DON'T LET LIFE BE A PAIN IN THE NECK
Head and neck pain is not the type of pain that you can push through and deal with for too long. For one thing, chronic pain in the head or neck is often associated with some sort of chronic health concern — one that you need to deal with, not ignore. Secondly, when you are dealing with constant pain in yourheadorneck, itbecomesdifficulttoconcentrate.Thiscanhaveanegative effect on your personal relationships, your career and more. The most common cause of neck or head pain is a muscle or joint problem. Working with a physical therapist can help you to identify the cause of the trouble and begin taking steps to correct the issue, allowing you to find relief from the pain without having to commit to long-term pain management — whichoften includes theuseofpainmedications thatarepotentiallyharmful toyourhealthandnot likelytoworkaswellovertime.Unlikepainmedications that become less helpful the longer they are used, physical therapy provides long-term relief from pain by correcting the joint or muscle concern with targeted therapies likeflexibilityexercises,musclestrengthening techniques, and guided stretches that target core joints and muscles. Of course, not all neck or head pain is the same, so understanding the basics of what you are dealing with is the first step to achieving relief.
HEAD PAIN 101 There are a lot of different types of headaches that you may experience, and each can be caused by its own different reason. For example, migraines can be caused by environmental factors, food allergies or even as a result of stress. There are headaches that can develop due to sinus pain and headaches that will develop when youaredehydrated.Therearealsoheadachesthatwilldevelopwhenyouareexposed too long to loud noises. There is no singular fix for each of these different types of headaches,which iswhyattempting to treateveryheadacheyouexperiencewith the same medication frequently doesn’t work. Oneof themostcommoncausesofheadaches thatareeasily treatablewithphysical therapy isradiatingheadaches,whicharecausedbystress inthe jointsandmusclesof theneck.Thiscausespain toradiatefrom the topof theneck into thehead,especially surroundingtheears.Therearea lotofreasonswhyradiatingheadachescoulddevelop, including as a result of lack of movement and stiffness in the neck. This buildup of irritation can be treated with regular physical therapy, especially through the use of massage and flexibility exercises that target the muscles in the neck.
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