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Suffering Stress or Tension Headaches?
It is difficult not to feel the effects of these high-stress times. Every where we look we are being bombarded with messages of uncertainty, doom and gloom which inevitably take its toll on our minds and bodies.
Recurrent tension headaches that extend from the base of the skull to the front of the head are an obvious sign that stress levels are getting out of control. There are certain widely acknowledged offenders that can trigger or aggravate these draining headaches. Identifying which of these are relevant can be tremendously beneficial because armed with this knowledge we can take positive action to change our situation for the better, and limit the frequency and severity of attacks.
Common factors that can trigger tension headaches include:
- Muscle tension in the jaw, neck and shoulders
- Excessive intake of coffee, alcohol or painkillers containing codeine
- Irregular or infrequent eating patterns
- Incorrect working conditions eg screen at the wrong angle, bad lighting or chair at inappropriate height
- Low grade dehydration
- Postural problems
Of course if you start to suffer from regular and severe headaches for no obvious reason, it is sensible to consult your GP to have the problem checked out.
When the economy is weak, preventive wellness can save you oodles in ever-increasing health care costs. Below are a few positive steps you can take that will reduce your stress load generally.
Massage
If muscle tension in the neck and shoulders is an insistent, well established problem, it is well worth having a regular back, neck and shoulder massage. This will have a directly beneficial effect – loosening bunched up muscles in the neck and shoulders and improving blood supply to the area.
Osteopathy or Chiropractic
It may be helpful for more established neck and shoulder problems to see treatment from these practitioners as they will be well qualified to rectify mechanical irregularities that may be triggering persistent headaches.
Diet
If your intake of coffee and alcohol has been steadily rising in response to an increasing and unusual amount of stress you may want to look at eliminating these or reducing the amount of consumption.
Drinking more than two cups of coffee and three cups of tea per day is definitely exceeding an advisable daily intake.
The Government’s recommended daily unit guidelines for alcohol are up to 2-3 units for a woman and up to 3-4 units for a man. A whole pint of strong lager (5%) or cider contains three units. Two small (125ml) glasses of wine (12%) are another three units. You may be surprised by how quickly these units add up. Have a look at http://www.drinkaware.co.uk/home for a nifty little calculator.
Relaxation
If you clench your jaw when you are under stress this may contribute to tension problems in the large muscles of the neck and shoulders. Established problems with jaw tension can also result in teeth grinding while you are asleep. Make a point of relaxing the muscles of the face and jaw; consciously relax both shoulders – you should find they drop away from your ears by about 5 cm as you let go of the tension; relax your arms and hands.
If you find it difficult to relax the area around your lower jaw, gently press the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth just behind your top teeth. This will also relax the muscles around the temples, thereby discouraging tension headaches.
You can also try some self massage to your face and jaw:
- Place your thumbs on the area just beneath your chin and put the balls of your fingers above. Slowly work your way outwards, using a gentle pinching movement, until you reach the earlobes. You should be able to cover this distance in four pinching movements. Repeat this sequence up to ten times.
- Next take the two first fingers of each hand and, starting near the nose, use small pressing movements to work your way slowly along the cheekbones. Use the balls of your fingers, making gentle and regular press and release movements until you get to the area of your jaw-bone joint (the TMJ joint for short). Repeat this movement ten times, working from the original starting point each time.
- Using each middle finger, gently rub your temples in a circular motion. A quick scalp massage will also relieve an enormous about of tension.
Smile!
The facial muscles are a primary are of tension, manifested by permanent frowning. This will contribute to tension headaches and the formation of ‘worry lines’. The next time you become aware of the tension building up, think of something positive and smile – let your facial muscles soften and relax.
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