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Headaches

Taking too much Panadol?

Living with headaches can be debilitating. Mindlessly taking paracetamol (Panadol) or ibuprofen (neurofen) in the hopes that the headache will disappear is common practice. However it is important to obtain a proper diagnosis to determine the underlying cause of your headaches. Are they stressed related? Are they related to your eye-sight? Is there an underlying medical problem? Is it a migraine? If you have any concerns relating this, please book an appointment with your trusted GP.

How do I know if Physiotherapy can help?

Approximately 35% of headaches are classified as cervicogenic (coming from the neck) headaches. A clinical sign that your headache may be coming from your neck, is the presence of pain or discomfort which is on one side of your head, and does not alternate sides. The nature of the pain is usually an aching feeling (ranging from mild to severe), and can be triggered by neck movements & poor posture. Our Physiotherapists are experienced in treating these type of headaches.

Migranes and Tension-Type headaches have different characteristics and will usually not respond to physiotherapy. Below is the following table summarising the differences.

Summary of different Headache types

Neck-generated Headache Migraine Tension Headache
Area Sidelocked, unilateral Alternating, unilateral Bilateral
Nature Aching Throbbing Tight/pressing
Triggers Neck, posture Food, light, smells, stress Stress
Physiotherapy? Yes No No