Do you have pounding headaches at the end of your long day? Do you think that this only caused by stress from your long days at work, bills, spouse or children? In fact while those contribute to how your muscles react, they may not actually be the source of that headache. There are various factors in our everyday life that play an important role in contributing to our headache. The way we sit at work, the way we hold our phone when we talk, the way we sit and type on our computer, all of these things and many more of your daily tasks if not done correctly contribute to headaches.
What causes headaches in the first place? There are many reasons why one experiences headaches. One of the most common reasons for a headache is tension headaches caused by muscles tightness and tension. You can feel this tightness all over your neck, shoulders and this can cause referral pain to the top of the head feeling like a tight headband. The tightening of muscles is mostly due to poor posture; your muscles are trying to adapt to the constriction of motion you are putting them in. You can have a sinus headache which can be caused by frequent infections or from sickness causes a headache behind the forehead and on the cheekbones. You can have pain around the eye or the back of one eye which can be caused by a cluster headache.
Let’s start with your day. Do you spend a lot of time sitting at a desk? Driving? Or are you more active during the day? If you are seated at a seat all day, is it comfortable or is too comfortable that you end up not maintaining a good posture. Is your seat designed to support your back and neck? It is important to make sure there is proper support to reduce and prevent tension. Tension can lead to various sorts of referral pain, weakness, muscle spasms and migraines! Migraines usually lead to lots of pain, nausea and visual changes. Other various factors that may be causing tension and leading to migraines may be:
ü Stress
ü Poor muscle tone
ü High heeled shoes
ü Pregnancy
ü Holding a small child or baby
ü Incorrectly set up work stations
ü Counter tops that are too low or high
ü Driving for long hours to and forth work in the wrong posture
While you can’t avoid picking up your children or not wearing heels to look professional at work, it is possible to make lifestyle changes that can help you improve your posture. Yoga, Pilates, jogging, and various strength trainings can help tone muscle and make them stronger , keep your joints healthy and keep your mind and body active! Once you improve your muscle tone you will find that naturally your stronger muscles will be helping you correct your bad posture. This will slowly reduce the frequency of your headaches and overtime the pain will reduce. So go out there join a class, eat fruits and keep a good posture, remember that healthy isn’t a goal it’s the way of living!
