# Constant Headaches



## Kustamogen (Dec 19, 2010)

I think I am prone to headaches in general, but being so tense all the time gives me a lot of tension headaches!!! Im anxious almost constantly so I think thats why I get them a lot. Doc said it could be my history of concussions....but Im not too sure about that. Either way I have a headache everyday....on a scale of 1-10 I have a 3-5 almost constantly....and get an 8-10 maybe once a week.

Do a lot of you get them? due to tension?


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## amoeba (May 19, 2010)

Yeah, I get headaches pretty often. I think mine are stress/tension headaches as well. I don't get them daily, but probably once a week at least, if not more. I would put mine around the 2-5 out of 10 range, but I've had some brutal ones, too. Often, I'll have them when I go to sleep, and they'll still be there when I wake up 8 hours later. That really sucks.

I try to avoid taking anything (aspirin/ibuprofen/whatever) unless it's bad enough to bother me. Sometimes it's just a very dull pain that I can block out.


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## Kustamogen (Dec 19, 2010)

yah I almost never take anything for them anymore unless theyre suppppper bad....or I have some kinda plans (which is rare) and I wanna try and enjoy it.

I have a good 6-7 right now that hasnt gone away all day.....even with stretching and using my neck massager thing


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## jonny neurotic (Jan 20, 2011)

Headaches are always muscular in origin.

Migraines originate in the jaw muscles, which pass under the cheekbone then fan out to cover the temples and part of the skull above the ear. Massaging along the length of the muscle fibres, on the side that the migraine is on, you will eventually find a very tender spot. Spend some time massaging this gently - or if you are lucky enough have someone else do this :rub - and try to relax the jaw as much as possible, keep you tongue touching the roof of your mouth and back of your teeth as this is the natural relaxing position for the tongue.

Other types of headache stem from tension in the neck muscles. Most common is the very top of the trapezius muscles, right at the top where they join the skull. Massage that point with your thumbs more firmly than you would the jaw muscles. Then give the rest of the traps a rub (again, better if someone else does it but we don't all have that luxury).

Nothing wrong with taking painkillers but bare in mind that headaches are *always* muscular in origin.

Although the tension can be there by itself, you may also have hunched or rounded shoulders. This often occurs in people who have self esteem or anxiety issues (think of it as a latent desire to hide). This in turn effects the posture causing the neck to lean too far forward and the muscles at the back of the neck then have to support the weight of the head. The muscles become tense and headaches ensue. Other pains will typically accompany this. Pains in the back of the shoulder and around the shoulderblade and if the postural defects become very pronounced pain down the arm(s) can result from trapping of the nerve (brachial neuralgia). Pilates is perfect for retraining and maintaing the posture. Tai chi and chi kung maintain good posture and help relieve built up tension. :wink


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## rainbowOne (Sep 26, 2010)

I almost constantly have a headache. I take paracetemol every four hours pretty much all the time. Dread to think how I'd feel if I didn't.
Pretty sure its stress.. well I've had them long enough now that they can't be anything more than stress.


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## jonny neurotic (Jan 20, 2011)

Taking paracetamol regularly over a long period can have the same effect as taking a large dose - ie. overdose. Depends on your genetics, nutritional status, etc.

Best to find otherways of riding yourself of the headaches.


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## AlisonWonderland (Nov 4, 2010)

Going from Johnny's wise words about muscles and headaches, would a bath help?
I rarely have headaches, but I did have one this morning. Not very sure why, I was trying to sleep


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## jonny neurotic (Jan 20, 2011)

^ A bath may help but it depends on how well you can relax in the bath. At hot shower too. Breathing exercises lying down with eyes closed and the lights off. Once you have learned to deeply relax it is easier to do it while you are up and about. Get a tape or CD for this. It might sound a bit cheezy but they work wonders - I'm talking from experience. A neck massage from someone(haven't had one of them for a while). Also, stretching your neck muscles and muscles of the chest and shoulder - front and back, but usually more is needed on the front.


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## percyblueraincoat (Jun 2, 2009)

Yeah, Jonny's got a point.

When I had my accident, my arm was held in a sling across my chest. When the cast was taken off and the arm had to support itself, I got absolutely awful, blinding headaches and my physiotherapist explained that it could well be to do with the muscles and what they'd been through over the month or so the casts had been on. And I got intense headaches whilst working on building up the muscles in that healing arm over the months following the removal of the cast. Oh, I had a lot of fun.

Pain killers can be addictive and I know this because I was left with little choice but to become addicted to them during my recovery from my accident. The pain was ridiculous.

If you are getting a lot of headaches: look at your eye sight and get that checked, get yourself checked out by your doctor, see how you feel (under medical supervision) about stopping taking paracetamol on a regular basis. 

Indeed, whatever you do, do it with the guidance of a qualified medical professional to be on the safe side.


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## justine2691 (Jan 8, 2011)

jonny neurotic said:


> Although the tension can be there by itself, you may also have hunched or rounded shoulders. This often occurs in people who have self esteem or anxiety issues (think of it as a latent desire to hide). This in turn effects the posture causing the neck to lean too far forward and the muscles at the back of the neck then have to support the weight of the head. The muscles become tense and headaches ensue.


I have headaches almost every day as well, and it's almost always because I'm so tense and whatnot (sometimes it's because of reading too much and sitting at the computer or tv too much). Sometimes, when I find myself _really_ anxious, just opening the curtains to let some sunlight in is like shoving a white hot knife into my brain---there are days when I sit in the dark. But no, I find that my shoulders are naturally bent forward, most likely from sitting hunched over in an effort to hide myself and make myself a smaller target, like you said. The jaw is where I find myself experiencing the most tenseness, and I constantly have to make my face relax.

I've found that deep breathing and muscle relaxations can help. Hot showers work too, and working out for 10 or 15 minutes helps me loosen up.


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## Cedilla (Dec 25, 2009)

I get headaches on the regular too. I used to get a lot more until I got my eyes checked and got glasses. I think a lot of mine have to do with my sinuses too, because they are always screwed up. I do get tension headaches a lot too, it might have something to do with my bad posture.

I take a lot of ibuprofen, I just hope that I have no negative issues from that. Acetaminophen does not seem to work for me at all, I think because I took it so much when I was a kid because I would get a lot of migraines. I get headaches so much that sometimes I will take some ibuprofen before going places just in case I get a headache there.


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## jonny neurotic (Jan 20, 2011)

justine2691 said:


> I have headaches almost every day as well, and it's almost always because I'm so tense and whatnot (sometimes it's because of reading too much and sitting at the computer or tv too much). Sometimes, when I find myself _really_ anxious, just opening the curtains to let some sunlight in is like shoving a white hot knife into my brain---there are days when I sit in the dark. But no, I find that my shoulders are naturally bent forward, most likely from sitting hunched over in an effort to hide myself and make myself a smaller target, like you said. The jaw is where I find myself experiencing the most tenseness, and I constantly have to make my face relax.
> 
> I've found that deep breathing and muscle relaxations can help. Hot showers work too, and working out for 10 or 15 minutes helps me loosen up.


I used to have terrible posture through a combination of; spending most of my childhood and adolescence slouched infront of a screen; a poorly designed exercise program when I started going to the gym; and a general tendency to hunch my shoulders because of my state of mind.

If you are doing pushups or bench presses it is important that the muscles in the front are adequately stretched because the will tighten up pulling the shoulders forward. Not doing so was my first mistake. Secondly I was not working in the opposite direction: eg back flies or seated rows. Thirdly when I started martial arts the back muscles were getting stretched but not so much the front.

Over time my shoulders were pulled way forward and there were certain exercises I couldn't do very well. My left shoulder would get really sore when I was working out. Not the usual pain from working the muscle but a horrible pain deep in the joint. I also would get a burning pain around the right shoulder blade through using a mouse too much. My arms would dangle infront of me when I walked which really pulled me of balance and slowed me down so I would hold them back firmly which caused more pain in the back of my shoulders. My neck would get so stiff that I could hardly turn my head and there would be hard lumps in the muscle. The pain would keep me awake sometimes. On top of this I had trouble with my lower back and, as a result, sciatica.

In spite of all this I never realised how bad my posture was until I started doing pilates. I only started out of curiosity. I could just as easily gave it a miss.

Once I started I got an idea of how bad my posture was and improvements were, initially, very quick. There was, however, a point when I started having trouble. It's difficult to explain but I started getting really stiff and sore in my right shoulder and it took a while to get through that stage. Now I stand tall and walk effortlessly but there is still the tendency for my muscles to pull back to the position the were in for so many years. Possibly a combination of "muscle memory" and my state of mind. Also there are some vertebra that are quite badly out of alignment and some that seem to be stuck together. I think I should see a chiropractor now to finish the job off.

Pilates is a beautiful system. It shares a lot in common with yoga, and no doubt was influenced by it, but is far less strenuous. It has helped me understand my body mechanics more and helped with my martial arts. I still have tension in my trapezius and neck muscles but I no longer have the same degree of pain. I still have some work to do but the improvements are amazing. And thats just from a book. Doing it under the supervision of a half decent instructor would, no doubt, be even better.


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## jonny neurotic (Jan 20, 2011)

Oh yeah. I also just discovered Zhan Zhuang. I will post links to two youtube clips. The first is Sifu Rudy explaining the principle behind. I think it's better to watch that one first to get the idea; then go to the second clip and follow the instructions. The second clip is day one of a ten day plan. It is great but if you have badly rounded shoulders bets to do pilates for a while first.

Sifu Rudy

Day 1


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## CabecitaSilenciosa (Jun 8, 2010)

Kinda funny. I was talking about this with my sister this morning. I was telling her how I had a headache for all of last week and that now it seems like I am going on a second one. Then, I suddenly realized that I've just always suffered from headaches, even as a kid. I know part of it has been from refusing to wear my glasses and being stressed out, but sometimes it seems like it randomly happens.
It's not really painful, not like migraines, but yes, I've always suffered from headaches and dizziness for some reason. That, and I've always had the tendency to feel like I am going to faint, especially during mornings, and when I've had little or no breakfast, and if I stand in one place for too long.


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## destroyX (Nov 20, 2010)

Since high school I've came home with a headache everday. After being around thousands of people, hunching like a bag lady, constantly clenching my jaw, and just worrying about nothing- I can't wait to lay down in my dark room and warm fluffy bed!


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## alte (Sep 4, 2010)

Neurologists specialize in treating headaches so if you are not comfortable with the diagnosis or want a second opinion you could see one.


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