http://www.healthwellnessdigest.com/triggers-and-aggravators-of-tension-headaches/ Wed, 26 Oct 2011 16:19:22 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.healthwellnessdigest.com/triggers-and-aggravators-of-tension-headaches/#comment-627 Rick Olderman Tue, 12 Jan 2010 03:10:16 +0000 http://www.healthwellnessdigest.com/triggers-and-aggravators-of-tension-headaches/#comment-627 In my experience as a physical therapist treating people for chronic headaches, most headaches (acute or chronic) are caused by shoulder blades that sit too low. There are two important muscles attaching from the shoulder blades to the bones of the neck and the base of the skull. When the shoulders sit too low, they pull on these muscles and therefore the vertebrae and skull creating headaches. Try this simple test. If it is a right-sided headache, put your right hand on top of your head for about twenty seconds. Make sure your shoulder has shrugged up just a little to help you get your hand on your head and keep it up there for the whole 20 seconds. This elevates the shoulder blade, unloading those muscles. Now lower the arm back to your side. Have your headaches decreased? If so, they could be caused by shoulder blades that sit too low. This is VERY common. In my experience as a physical therapist treating people for chronic headaches, most headaches (acute or chronic) are caused by shoulder blades that sit too low. There are two important muscles attaching from the shoulder blades to the bones of the neck and the base of the skull. When the shoulders sit too low, they pull on these muscles and therefore the vertebrae and skull creating headaches.
Try this simple test. If it is a right-sided headache, put your right hand on top of your head for about twenty seconds. Make sure your shoulder has shrugged up just a little to help you get your hand on your head and keep it up there for the whole 20 seconds. This elevates the shoulder blade, unloading those muscles. Now lower the arm back to your side. Have your headaches decreased? If so, they could be caused by shoulder blades that sit too low. This is VERY common.

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