Specific self-care for natural headache relief
We’re glued to our devices, and it’s reversing the natural curve of our necks. This leads to more than just weird posture; it’s a major source of headaches and pain.
This is what I got to chatting with Family Nurse Practitioner Becky Geck of the Houston Headache Institute about one Wednesday afternoon after she took my yoga and meditation class.
She told me that her clinic uses holistic methods to treat folks who have “the worst of the worst” when it comes to headaches. Intrigued, I poked her for more, and realized this information is useful for us all. At least for everyone who has a phone.
Here are the highlights.
1. Regarding that neck curve.
Geck says that from what she sees, the biggest cause of crippling headaches is habitually looking down. This makes sense.
The human head weighs roughly 10 pounds. Our necks can handle that. But we spend large chunks of the day with our heads forward—noses in phones. That unnatural angle dumps extra weight and pressure into our necks, which then become increasingly unstable. Geck says our vertebrae actually start to wiggle. Neck muscles spasm to try to re-stabilize things (ouch), while joints, connective tissue, and nerves tweak out, too. Gecks says imaging reveals many of her patients have severe degeneration in their necks from so-called “tech-neck” (interestingly, many don’t even feel it). She says all this tension and cacophony can permanently reshape our cervical spines, and in many people, trigger intense headaches.
So, what to do?
- Geck and her colleagues recommend keeping our phones and tablets at eye level with shoulders relaxed.
- Keep computer screens at eye level, and use a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse so that your arms stay close to your body. The goal is to minimize tension on the shoulders and neck, which creeps up when arms are outstretched.
2. Other activities cause tension and posture issues, thus, headaches, as well. Consider these slight tweaks to everyday tasks:
- Geck says it’s best not to carry purses and bags over our shoulders (oops). She says we should lug heavy things down at our sides and keep our bags light (double oops).
- “When lifting anything, squat down and use your legs, rather than bending over and using mostly the upper body,” she says.
- Drive with hands on the bottom of the steering wheel to help keep shoulders relaxed.
3. Pay attention where tension shows up in your body, and be mindful to release it.
- Geck says a lot of people clench their jaws when stressed, grind teeth at night, or are mouth-breathers. She says all three can put pressure on the jaw and cause headaches. Awareness goes a long way in this department. “At their first appointment many patients tell me they don’t clench [their jaws], so I tell them to pay attention. They often come back and say that they actually do, especially in stressful situations.”
- Use a heating pad on your neck and shoulders daily, whether in pain or not.
- Good posture overall helps keep tension at bay and our bodies in working order. So:
- When standing, bear equal weight in both feet (mostly in the balls of your feet). No leaning. Keep a slight bend in your knees (i.e. don’t lock them out—this can cause damage and it’s said to cut energy flow from the knees up).
- Take aim to maintain the natural curvature of your spine. Head over shoulders, top of shoulders over hips, hips over knees.
- Light yoga and meditation may be helpful for your body, and for increasing awareness, too.
4. One more word about physical activity.
- If headaches and excessive upper body tension are a thing for you, physical activity can be helpful, but don’t push it. “We recommend low impact cardio (walking, elliptical, recumbent bike) and light yoga. We recommend against weight lifting and HIIT workouts because they tend to irritate already tense and irritated muscles and nerves,” Geck says.
Depending on the current status of your head/neck/shoulders, these tips may be or may not be immediately healing. Regardless, they’re good self-care for us all.