Water Therapy For Your Headache
By Michael Russell
Probably the most common pain everyone experiences is headache. Rather than a disease, headache usually comes as a symptom of some underlying disorder. Dietary or alcohol recklessness may also result to headache. Furthermore, this could be a sign of something that needs careful diagnostic treatment by a doctor. The two most common types of headaches are tension headache and vascular headache.
A stressful situation usually precedes a tension headache, that’s why this is rightfully called so. According to experts, this type of headache is caused by muscle tightening in the neck and shoulder areas. This explains why a person suffering from tension headache cannot seem to find a comfortable position, either sitting or lying down. There is pain in the head and shoulder areas. It has been observed that when left untreated, tension headaches produce tender nodules in the muscles of the shoulders and at the base of the neck.
Moist heat packs can usually relieve tension headache especially at its very early onset. The tight muscles usually respond to moist heat application. Special attention on the other hand should be given to the small tender nodules or the “trigger points” in the neck and shoulder muscles. Vigorous massage in the neck and shoulder areas and focusing on the tender nodules will usually bring relief. While a stretching and strengthening exercise repeatedly done three to four times a week over a period of several weeks will bring complete relief.
Since tension headache stems from some tension producing factors, eliminating these factors will completely eradicate the headache. Self-assessment can help you pinpoint the culprit. What causes your tension? Is it related to your attitude? Or does it have something to do with your lifestyle? Is it work-related tension? You may need to do some changes in your attitude and probably in your lifestyle. You may want to include a daily exercise program and incorporate proper rest. Taking pain medications and tranquilizers provide only temporary relief and do not actually correct the underlying causes. If you experience sleeplessness caused by tension and headache, taking a bath using lukewarm water 10 to 15 minutes before going bed and routinely doing this every night may help you relax and relieve the headache.
Vascular headache, the second common type of headache is characterized by throbbing pain and a feeling of increased pressure inside the head. Just moving the head can even be painful. Naturally, you will always reach for a bottle of aspirin to relieve the pain but pain relievers most often only mask it and usually when the efficacy of these pain relievers subside you will feel the pain again. Some health experts suggest a better and more effective treatment to remedy this type of headache using only water. You should be seated in a comfortable chair. Find a container large and deep enough to hold both your feet and some hot water. The temperature of the hot water should be bearable and should reach your knees. Then apply cold packs on your forehead or back of the neck. Relief should be felt within 10 to 15 minutes after applying the water therapy. You can end the treatment with a short, soothing warm shower.
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Headaches
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell
Technorati Tags: tension headache, tension headaches, vascular headache, tender nodules, moist heat application, shoulder muscles, tight muscles, types of headaches, attitude, exercise, lifestyle, head and shoulder, heat packs, stressful situation, proper rest, trigger points
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