We have all been there. It starts as a tightness in your shoulders, creeps up the back of your neck and eventually settles as a dull, throbbing ache behind your eyes or across your forehead.
You take a painkiller, drink some water and hope it goes away. But it keeps coming back.
If this sounds familiar, you might not be dealing with a “normal” headache. You are likely dealing with Tension Headaches caused by muscle referral patterns. Here is how your neck is tricking your head, and how we can fix it.
The “Referral Pattern” Trap
Most people assume the problem is where the pain is. If your forehead hurts, the problem must be your forehead, right?
Not usually. In my practice at WoVe MT, I often find that chronic headaches are actually caused by Trigger Points (tight knots of muscle fibers) in the neck and shoulders.
Upper Traps: Those big muscles on top of your shoulders? When they are tight, they shoot pain up the neck and around the ear.
Suboccipitals: These tiny muscles at the base of your skull are constantly working to hold your head up. When they get overworked, they cause that “band-like” pressure around your head.
The Culprit: “Tech Neck”
Why are these muscles so angry? For most of us in Bradford it’s our posture.
Whether you are looking down at a smartphone, hunching over a laptop or driving, your head is tilted forward. Your head weighs about 10-12 lbs, but for every inch you tilt it forward, the load on your neck muscles doubles.
Sustaining this position for hours creates a cycle of tension that leads directly to that 3:00 PM headache.
How Massage Breaks the Cycle
Medication might dull the signal, but it doesn’t release the knot. To stop tension headaches for good, we need to release the physical tension pulling on your skull.
During a Deep Tissue Massage or Massage Therapy session, I focus on:
– Releasing the Upper Traps: Dropping your shoulders away from your ears.
– Suboccipital Release: Gently stretching the base of the skull to relieve that “pressure cooker” feeling.
– Improving Posture Awareness: Giving you simple cues to keep your head aligned so the pain doesn’t return tomorrow.
Stop Living with Headaches
You don’t have to push through the pain. If you are noticing a pattern of weekly headaches or constant neck stiffness, let’s address the root cause.
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