Neck pain, headaches, and acupuncture

If you suffer from neck pain and headaches, there may be a painless, drug-free solution that does not require surgery or complicated procedures.

Have you ever woken up, realized you slept funny and can’t move your neck or you've woken up, again, with a headache?  A locked up joint in the neck combined with muscle tension can be incredibly painful, can limit your range of motion, and can cause terrible headaches.  Even sitting up in bed can be excruciating for your upper back, neck, and head.  Guess what? Acupuncture can help! Call Healthworks today.

Neck pain and headaches are common, are often are caused by the muscles of the head, neck, and upper back, and these muscles are often overlooked. The four big culprits for neck stiffness, pain, and headaches are...

1 – The trapezius, a big muscle that attaches at the base of the skull, the tips of the shoulder and all the way down to junction of your mid and lower back. This is the muscle that feel great when someone rubs your shoulders and can carry a lot of tension – especially when you’re stressed out!

2 –  Levator scapulae attaches to your upper neck and the tip of your shoulder-blade. This muscle can contribute to a lot of stiffness in the neck and upper back.

3 –  The suboccipital muscles are located right at the base of your skull. There are 4 small muscles on each side of the skull that can cause all kinds of aches, pains and headaches when they get tight!

4 –  The splenius capitus muscle starts at the base of your skull on the sides and runs down through your neck and into your upper back. When it is tight, you can feel pain throughout your upper back, neck, behind your eyes, and in your temples.

There are acupuncture points along all these muscles that can help relieve tension, pain, and headaches.  The treatment is painless, highly effective, and can be as short as 15 minutes.

In addition, the combination of acupuncture with gentle chiropractic spinal manipulative can be extremely effective in treating chronic tension-type headaches superimposed with migraine.

At Healthworks we can:

    •    Perform acupuncture therapy to harness the body’s natural healing potential to relax the muscles and fascia and bring blood supply to the area.

    •    Provide traditional Chinese medicine diet and nutrition guidance with suggestions for improving the patient’s nutrition intake, overall diet, and the addition of specific vitamins and other non-prescription medication supplements.

    •    Provide guidance for improving posture as well as relaxation techniques, specific exercises, and ergonomic approaches for daily routines (including sitting at a desk).

    •    Provide a chiropractic adjustment or spinal manipulation to alleviate stress on the patient’s system by improving spinal function.

    •    Provide complimentary modalities like electroacupuncture, cupping, gua sha, and tui na if they will offer additional benefit.

Your acupuncturist will also identify the trigger points and taut bands of muscle that are possible sources of neck pain, back pain, and headaches. Trigger point therapy (aka dry needling) with an acupuncture needle helps to relax the muscle to restore function, improve range of motion, and reduce pain.

Please share this information with friends and family who may be suffering with neck pain or headaches, and, if you're suffering yourself, please give us a call. We can help.