Sound familiar?
- Heaviness and pressure at the base of the skull by evening
- Hard to turn your head, clicking when you do
- A headache like a band around the head
- Numbness or tingling in the fingers
- Crunching in the neck and a "ridge" at the skull base
Why it happens
A head weighs about five kilograms. When it is pushed forward towards a monitor, the load on the neck muscles multiplies. The upper trapezius and the suboccipital muscles work under constant tension — and start referring pain into the head, eyes and temples.
The cause, though, usually sits lower: the muscles that should hold the shoulder blades and thoracic spine have switched off. The neck is forced to do their job. Until that is fixed, kneading the neck will help for a couple of days.
How we work with it
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1
Assessment
Testing the scapular stabilisers and thoracic mobility.
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2
Neck work
Therapeutic massage of the neck and shoulder area, trigger point work at the skull base.
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3
Activating the back
Kinesiotherapy: giving the shoulder blades their job back and unloading the neck.
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4
Workstation
We review monitor height, arm position and breaks — without that it all comes back.
Questions and answers
Can massage take away a headache?
If the pain comes from tension in the neck and head muscles — yes, often during the session itself. Massage does not treat migraine or headaches of a different nature, though it can reduce attack frequency by lowering background tension.
Is neck manipulation dangerous?
I do not perform sharp manipulations or thrust techniques on the neck. The work is soft: muscles, fascia, movement. That is safer and more effective in the long run.
My fingers go numb — is that the neck?
Often yes: tight neck and shoulder muscles can compress a nerve. But numbness has other causes too, so a persistent symptom needs a medical opinion.