When your jaw gets tight or your head moves forward the muscles around your upper back, neck and face get strained and tight.  Tight muscles clamp down on nerves and blood vessels.  The result is a muscle tension headache.

What natural steps should you take to get rid of tension headaches?

1.  Watch your posture.  Try to keep it neutral and straight.  A strong back will help with this.

2.  Use a pillow or rolled towel behind your waist to help you sit upright.

3.  Ice the back of your neck.  Try to wrap your cold pack all the way down to the notch between your collar bones.  Some people find heat to be more beneficial.

That’s it in a nutshell:  Muscles cause painful tension headaches.

1.  Driving.  Most car seats tilt back too far or have headrests that push your head forward.  Either of these will strain the muscles that cause tension headaches.

2.  Couches (sofas) and chairs that have too much backward lean.

3.  Slouching or sitting on your tailbone with a rounded back.  Slouching or leaning sideways will do it, too.

4.  Forward head posture or holding your head in front of your body.

What’s the solution?

1.  Padding the back of your car seat so you can sit more upright or farther away from the headrest.

2.  Getting a strong back, including the muscles in the back of your neck, and improving your posture.

3.  Sitting ‘up’ straighter.

4.  Lifting your chest so your head can move back more over your body where it is supposed to be and getting a strong back helps, too.

If you take action, you can start to be rid of your headaches.  I wrote a lot of articles at http://SimpleStrengthening.com that will help you improve your posture and get rid of your muscle tension headaches. 

According to a study by the US Army, approximately one out of ten people have an actual leg length difference. Additionally, about one out of one hundred people have pelvic bones which are smaller on one side than the other side.

According to myofascial (muscle and soft tissue) pain experts Drs. Travell and Simons, a leg length difference of 1/8 inch or more puts you at risk for pain and dysfunction.  Why?  Because your body does things automatically to try to correct or adapt or accommodate that difference such as tilt, twist or rotate.

There are two types of “short legs.”  Both can cause migraines.

One is an actual anatomical difference which could be caused by severe injury or polio or nature and is measurable on x-rays.  It could be either the upper or the lower leg bone.

The other type is a functional leg length difference.  That means the bones are all the same length but muscles in the body cause one hip to lift.  Your hips can move independently of each other so it is possible to have one hip that is higher or more forward than the other.

People with an anatomical leg length difference often have migraines because walking with a tilt puts a lot of strain on the muscles at the base of the skull.   It causes a rotation (slight turning) of the head.  That can affect the nerves and blood vessels which play a part in migraines.  Those people can have other pain, too, such as hip pain on the short leg side or low back pain pain or TMJ dysfunction.

What’s the fix?

Good news!  There is a relatively easy fix so you don’t have to go through life “out of balance” and with migraines.

Anatomical short leg: Lifting your entire foot on the short leg side enough to level your hips will go a long way in helping you feel better, have fewer migraines, and fewer problems with your neck and muscles.

This requires that you only wear certain shoes.  They must have a solid, thick hard rubber sole.  A shoemaker can split a firm rubber sole and add a layer of neoprene rubber to lift the short leg. This doesn’t work with air or gel type shoes.

Also, if you have a really skilled shoemaker or cobbler, he might be able to remove your whole sole and replace it with a new, thicker sole.

It may seem like a lot of work or you might not want to give up your stylish shoes but the benefits to your body are huge.

Functional short leg: A skilled massage therapist can help relax and release the tight out-of-balance muscles that are pulling your bones out of neutral.

How do you know if you have a leg length difference?

Perhaps one pant leg is always longer than the other.  That was the clue for my 91 year old client who had back pain and migraines for over 70 years.  His doctors never looked for or told him he had a leg length difference but he told me, “My tailor always told me I did!”  His anatomical leg length difference was about 2 inches.

Maybe when you look in the mirror you can see that one shoulder is higher than the other or that your head sits off the side instead of dead in the middle of your body.  That’s a clue, too.

Or, as you look in the mirror, does your belt line drop to one side?

How do you know how much lift you need?

A doctor can take x-rays of your legs and hips and measure for you.  Or, you can “guestimate” by placing notebooks or magazines under your short leg and adding or removing pages until you feel level and look level in the mirror.  Many neuromuscular massage therapists are trained in measuring leg length differences also.

When you get rid of an actual leg length difference and stop the tilting and twisting that your body does to try to make corrections, you can have fewer migraines.

What else can I do?

Until I get my own migraine self-help program completed, I will refer you to this program, Jaw Pain Natural Relief.

What is the tie-in between migraines and jaw pain?  Many of the causes come from the same tight muscles and distortions in posture.  TMJ pain–pain in the jaw–also comes from the muscles around the shoulders, back, neck and head just as migraines do.

There can be multiple causes for migraines but the more causes you can get rid of, the less pain you will have.

PLEASE NOTE: Always whenever you do movements for your neck, do them carefully, slowly and thoughtfully.  Pay close attention to what’s going on so you don’t aggravate your touchy neck and cause a migraine.

What can cause your TMJ to stop moving smoothly?

• An injury or trauma that causes the joint to dislocate.
• Overuse of the powerful jaw muscles in certain positions.
• Sleeping always on the same side which may cause your jaw to “drop” to one side.
• Having a “forward head” posture which puts a lot of strain on your neck and jaw muscles.
• Dental work which mis-aligns your jaw by not lining up your teeth correctly.
• Scoliosis or curvature of the spine.

And, of course, there can be other causes but very often the cause turns out to be muscular.  Everything on the list, above, except for the dental work, involves your muscles.

So, if the powerful chewing muscles become tighter on one side than the other, they can “pull” your jaw out of alignment.

But how can you get your smooth movement back?

That’s the good news!  Muscles do get tight but they can be relaxed (released.)  If you can help those jaw muscles relax, your TMJ can usually move back into its neutral position where it moved smoothly.

According to my training, an interesting thing about the disk in the TMJ is that it can regenerate itself.  No other disk in the body can do that.  How cool!

If you have a jaw that “clicks” being able to relax the muscles around the joint can help it realign itself and may get rid of your click.  Sometimes you might need someone to help you correct your posture in order to eliminate the click.

In fact, your body is really smart and wants to be well.  Sometimes it just needs you to learn a little more so you can help it get out of pain.  But you can’t just learn–you also have to take action.

One way to take action is do-it-yourself.  I like the program my friend, Christian, put together to help you get rid of your TMJ pain.  You can learn more at Jaw Pain Natural Relief.com He understands how the whole body is involved when your jaw hurts.  (Why?  Because it’s all attached!)

Christian also developed very simple movements that you can do to help the muscles around your head, face, throat and neck relax.   When an area of your body lets go of tension, you will feel more relaxed all over.

The really good thing is that when all of those muscles are more in alignment and balanced, you will have fewer headaches, less neck pain–you’ll feel better in lots of ways.

Another way to take action is to find and go to a skilled massage therapist who can help you get rid of your TMJ pain.  Since muscles are usually the culprit, someone who can help those muscles release or relax can give you a lot of relief.  If your muscles are really, really tight, there may be some discomfort but if your therapist is well trained, you will benefit.

There are two actions you can take today.

• Make an appointment with a well-trained massage therapist or neuromuscular massage therapist.  Check out the “Massage” Category here at Simple Pain Relief for an article on how to find a massage therapist who can help you.
• Learn more about a do-it-yourself program at home.  For this I invite you to discover more at Jaw Pain Natural Relief.

You can learn how to stop suffering with TMJ pain and that’s a very good thing because you deserve to feel better!

1. It relaxes the muscles around your chest, ribs, shoulders and neck.  These are the same muscles that get tight and cause headache symptoms.
2. Yoga helps reduce your stress.  When you’re feeling all stressed, your muscles “clamp down” on nerves that go to your head.
3. It helps strengthen the muscles of your backside, and makes you long and strong; it creates muscular balance.  A strong back and a long, strong body helps you have good posture.  Good posture, with your head over your body instead of out in front, reduces headaches.
4. Yoga gets your circulation moving and that helps move the metabolic (body) wastes out of your body.  It reduces swelling which can also be a cause for head pain.
5. It helps you become more “in tune” with your body.  When your muscles start to complain or your head starts to hurt, you will be able to figure out the cause and correct it.
6. Yoga can help reduce your blood pressure, but if you are having high blood pressure headaches, you’d better get to a doctor immediately!

Yoga is a full-body stretching and strengthening movement program with a lot of benefits.

If you take a class, always remember:  It’s your body.  If a move doesn’t feel appropriate to you, or feels like it will make your head hurt or your headache feel worse, DON’T DO IT.  Instead, practice a different movement (pose) or breathing.

So, yoga helps take the pressure off the muscles around your head and neck, and helps you relax, and reduces stress, and improves your breathing (shallow breathing could also be a cause of your headaches by not giving you enough oxygen.)

That’s how yoga can help you get rid of your headaches.

I was recently at a high school symphony band concert and was struck by the extremely poor posture and “forward head posture” of many of the musicians.  Even though a lot of young people have “forward heads,” it was much more so with the musicians than with the general student population.

Why would this be?

Most of us hold our arms and heads in front of us most of the day, but musicians–musical athletes–hold their instruments for extended periods without the opportunity to stretch or relax the muscles that support their instruments.

What could help?

The muscles in the front of the body support the instrument.  The are the ones that are contracted and shortened simply due to the work they do.

Strengthening your back will help and so will stretching the muscles in the front of your body.  Massage therapy would also help but which muscles should be massaged?

The muscles that would need the most pre- and post-event treatment would mostly be the ones that SHORTEN during practice and performance.  This does NOT mean the areas of complaint.  The complaining areas of muscle  are most often SYMPTOMS and not the cause of the pain.  The shortened, front-of-body muscles would need the most massage to help them get back to normal resting length.

Before a performance, a general full body “warm up” should work well.  But, many massage therapists do a “full body” warming massage while avoiding working on the front of the neck, chest, abdomen, front of thighs and inside of thighs.  Those areas need warming too–those are the shortened muscles–and shouldn’t be avoided.

After a performance, I would suggest again that the muscles that were shortened (usually the muscles in the front of the body) get the most massage even though the back muscles may be the ones complaining.

Rather than just work where the pain (symptom) is, a massage therapist or musician should ask:

• Okay, what’s attached to the wrist?
• What’s attached to the neck?
• Which part of the leg gets the most worked when performing?  Front, back, gluteal muscles (butt)?  Upper, lower?
• Which muscles pull the head forward?

A massage therapist who is really good will thoughtfully assess the client and their activities  and work on the CAUSES of pain and not just SYMPTOMS.  That’s when you will have the most pain relief in your neck and back.

And now I’d like to invite you to visit http://SimpleBackPainRelief.com (<–click here.)  While you are there you can request a copy of a free report about getting rid of the knots in your back.

1. It relaxes the muscles around your chest, ribs, shoulders and neck.  These are the same muscles that get tight and cause headache symptoms.
2. Yoga helps reduce your stress.  When you’re feeling all stressed, your muscles “clamp down” on nerves that go to your head.
3. It helps strengthen the muscles of your backside, and makes you long and strong; it creates muscular balance.  A strong back and a long, strong body helps you have good posture.  Good posture, with your head over your body instead of out in front, reduces headaches.
4. Yoga gets your circulation moving and that helps move the metabolic (body) wastes out of your body.  It reduces swelling which can also be a cause for head pain.
5. It helps you become more “in tune” with your body.  When your muscles start to complain or your head starts to hurt, you will be able to figure out the cause and correct it.
6. Yoga can help reduce your blood pressure, but if you are having high blood pressure headaches, you’d better get to a doctor immediately!

Yoga is a full-body stretching and strengthening movement program with a lot of benefits.

If you take a class, always remember:  It’s your body.  If a move doesn’t feel appropriate to you, or feels like it will make your head hurt or your headache feel worse, DON’T DO IT.  Instead, practice a different movement (pose) or breathing.

So, yoga helps take the pressure off the muscles around your head and neck, and helps you relax, and reduces stress, and improves your breathing (shallow breathing could also be a cause of your headaches by not giving you enough oxygen.)

That’s how yoga can help you get rid of your headaches.

Chiropractor Greg Fors has written “A Complete Physical & Spiritual Guide To Healing Your Chronic Pain WHY WE HURT Your Total Self-Care Guide for Backaches, Headaches, Shoulder Pain, Arthritis and Fibromyalgia.”

Yes, that is a very long title, but perhaps that’s okay because it’s a very thick book.  Dr. Fors explains that pain can be healed.  He tells us the causes of pain, which he believes are 3:  physical, biochemical and spiritual.

Dr. Fors goes into the causes of pain, too.  Some of the causes may never have occurred to you.  He’ll tell you where the toxic chemicals that affect your health come from, and much, much more.

Why We Hurt is a logical, well-written, pretty easy to read pain relief book.

Why?  Because muscles are responsible for most of our pain.

Tight muscles pull on bones.  Tight muscles cause bone spurs (arthritis.)  Tight muscles press on nerves and blood vessels.  Overstretched muscles get trigger points which “fire” pain into other parts of your body, sometimes quite far away.

To be fair, there are a few doctors who do look at posture.  When they don’t, it’s because they haven’t been trained in “muscular medicine” or because they simply don’t have time.

But, poor posture is responsible for most pain and dysfunction, including headaches.

You can see that there are a lot of ways for your muscles to cause head pain because muscles have many roles.  Bones act as our structure: they are our framework and support.  The role of muscles is to help us move.  Muscles move bones.  Muscles move us.

Sometimes we start using our muscles as bones.  We expect our poor muscles to hold us upright, because our posture is failing, but that’s not their job.  When our posture fails, it puts a lot of strain on our muscles.  Our muscles become unhappy.  They cause symptoms like headaches.  They cause pain in our heads and elsewhere.

How can you correct your posture?

It took a while for you to get into poor posture, and it’ll take a while for your body to remember how to be tall again.  But, you can do it!

The muscles in the front of your body have shortened.  Maybe your shoulders are rolled forward.  Those muscles need to be relaxed, or lengthened.

The muscles in your back–and the whole backside of your body, except your calves–need to be strengthened.

When you start letting your muscles do their job again, instead of trying to act like bones and support you,  you will be on the road to getting rid of your headaches.

People with poor posture look like they are leaning or collapsing forward.  Often their head is way forward in front of their body (“forward head posture.”)  The curve in their neck is either too much or too flat, and so is the curve behind their waist. Their shoulders round forward.

Poor posture impacts a LOT of your body!  Almost every part of your body is affected by collapsed posture.

Here are several things you can check so you will know whether your posture is good or not-so-good.

1.  Stand up and hold your arms at your sides in their usual position.  Look down.  If your thumbs are pointing to each other, your shoulders are rounded forward.  Your chest muscles are tight and shortened.  They are pulling your shoulders forward.  But, if your thumbs point straight ahead, your shoulders aren’t rounded forward.

2.  Are you constantly straightening up and constantly collapsing forward again? That’s a clue that the muscles in the front of your body are short and pulling your forward.

3.  Are your feet flat or do you have nice arches?  Flat feet will cause your posture to collapse because flat arches move your weight forward.

4.  Does the front of your neckline choke you or always slide backward?

5.  Do you get a lot of headaches, pain in your neck or back?  Those are symptoms caused by poor posture.

If you discover that your posture isn’t so good, there’s a lot you can do.  There are articles at Simple Strengthening that will help you get straight and strong.

And, I have good news for you!

Bodies want to be well and you can correct your posture.  When your posture is better, you will have less pain in your head, back, arms…all over!