Headaches, neck tension, and what we can do about all this... 

Often people have ongoing headaches, without realising that they commonly have a mechanical cause.  A mechanical cause means there is a strain in the muscles and fasica and/or the joints of the body. 

The many nerves that give sensation to the back, sides and front of the head pass through the muscles of the neck, and if there is sufficient tension in those muscles then the nerves can be compressed, stimulating them and causing pain to be referred upwards. 

This leads to the sensation of pain or aching in the head, particularly behind the eyes, over the ears and the back of the head and this pain is often far more noticeable than the tension in the neck. 

This type of headache is termed 'Cervicogenic', as it originates from the cervical spine (neck). 

Osteopathy (and Cranial Osteopathy in particular) is very effective at treating the cause of the tension in the neck and usually leads to a quick resolution of the current headache. It also can prevent them from recurring which is such a relief.

It is not usually necessary to manipulate your neck to make it 'crack' (though that is absolutely an option if you would like it - just let our front desk team know to book you in with one of our structural osteopaths).