Headaches – Can Physiotherapy Help?
Platinum Physiotherapist Luke Finlay explains the role of physiotherapy in managing headaches
The general thought around headaches is that they are invariably a part of life. Self inflicted or otherwise, the general population seem to be content to either put up with the headaches and migraines they experience, or to otherwise rely on the short term fix of medication to get them through the day.
The general population is ill equipped to understand headaches, particularly what causes them, and what can be done to fix them. Headaches can be so debilitating and life affecting, and many people think that they should just suffer through and put up with headaches – this thought process needs to change. Little is known about the role of physiotherapy in assessing and treating headaches and migraines.
Last year, I completed further study about the role of the cervical spine (the neck) in headache and migraine sufferers, and ways to effectively treat them as a therapist. This approach to headaches by Dean Watson, founder of the Watson Headache Institute, has unparalleled diagnostic accuracy and treatment efficacy. It can confirm if disorders in the upper cervical spine are responsible for headache or migraine and determine the exact nature of the disorder as well as which spinal joints are involved. Most importantly, reduction, if not resolution typically occurs within 4 to 5 sessions. That’s 4 to 5 sessions to change or resolve something that can plague people for years!
The take home message is that you don’t need to put up with headaches and migraines. Yes, there can be sinister causes of headaches, but if you seek help from a physiotherapist with knowledge of assessing and treating headaches properly (like me), you get your life back – headaches don’t need to be one of those things you need to endure. If you or someone you knows suffers from headaches, you can book in to see me by going to the Booking Page on our website, or by calling the clinic on 8554 0111.
