Craig Sather, Doctor of Physical Therapy 
HEADACHES CAN CO-EXIST WITH NECK AND BACK PAIN Headaches may be the end of the line for a spinal problem that migrates upwards from the lower spinal area. Look at the way Mateo in our photo is bending forwards. His lifting pattern may lead not only to back pain, but neck pain as well. The …
Your Poor Body Mechanics Tighten Your Headache Muscles Your headaches may build up from your day-to-day mental and physical stressors. You eventually reach a threshold where your headache pops out of the box from which it has been kept in. Therefore, it behooves you to remove every stressor that can build up to allow it …
Is My Headache Coming from My Hips? Refer to my December 13 blog about how a weak link in your muscular chain can occur in your hip or leg. As a result, the altered muscle firing patterns work their way up to your neck and produce a headache. The excellent diagram of how that complicated …
Where in My Head Does the Sternocleidomastoid Send Pain To? As we have seen from previous blogs, the sternocleidomastoid muscle is the muscle of the side of your neck that starts on your collarbone and projects to the area by your ear. Remember, a tight left sternocleidomastoid such as is pictured here limits neck turning …
Does Your Walking Posture Worsen Your Headache? Take a moment to reflect on your walking posture. Are you standing straight and proud? Do you instead find yourself with your head stuck forward, shoulders rounded and upper back slumped? If so, your headache-producing muscles are tight and ready to fire up your headache when the time …
Neck Pain Goes Along with Headaches People with migraines had neck pain in 40% of the cases, according to a study by Leslie Kelman of 1,283 migraineurs. In my practice, I find that in many cases the neck pain and stiffness will come on before the migraine and tension headache hits. Is there are way …
Chin Tucks may not Stretch your Suboccipital Muscles Sufficiently The suboccipital muscles, you remember, are four of the small in stature but large in pain-production muscles situated at the base of your neck, just below the back of your head. The chin tuck technique can stretch out the suboccipital muscles to get your headaches better. …
Posture Matters for Your Headache Pain! How many times have you heard that you need to pay attention to your posture? It is true. Poor posture will tighten the muscles that flare up your headaches. As a result of posture correction, your headaches may ease up. Use a simple technique of the chin tuck to …
Nausea and Headaches Often Go Together Most people who suffer from migraines also experience nausea. You may feel nausea come on as an unpleasant warning sign that a migraine is soon arriving. Migraines can last for hours or days. What if you had a way to shut down the nausea and stop your migraine from …
We Are What We Eat It has been said “We are what we eat.” Our headaches may be what we eat as well. Food choices affect so many conditions, including our heart health, cancer predisposition, gouty arthritis, and digestive health. Make the connection between your food and your headache if it is there! Food sensitivities …