This is part two of the series of articles looking at migraines and headaches. In part one I looked closely at what are the common triggers and causes of migraine attacks are so you can begin to modify your lifestyle habits or seek help in the areas that may be contributing to your problem. If you have not read part one make sure you go back and read that now as this will help you understand how to correctly use the various strategies we are about to discuss.
What Causes Migraines And How To Prevent Them
Normally when I write a detailed article for my readers and subscribers to my newsletter I am trying to explain some simple exercise, nutrition, or lifestyle based solutions to a common health problem that they may be dealing with. However, with this article about migraines and headaches I feel like I pose more questions than I provide answers or solutions to, as it is such a complicated topic to discuss. Having said that, I hope by the time you have read all the information I am about to explore you may be clearer as to what factors may be causing your specific problem so you can implement the right corrective solution. Due to the size of this article I have broken it into two parts with this first part discussing the causes and the second part I look at the various strategies to manage a migraine.
Why It Is Vital You Devote Time To Strengthening Lower Trapezius
One of the most neglected muscles in many strength workouts is the lower trapezius. If you have neck pain or shoulder pain this can be a real problem, as weakness with this muscle greatly contributes to ongoing pain and dysfunction for the important role it plays in providing stability to the scapula and shoulder joint. Most people believe that many of the compound strength exercises will automatically improve its strength and function so they don’t devote any time to strengthening it with specific exercises. I know I used to think this way, and it may be true for someone with no injury or dysfunction in the shoulder, however anyone with postural problems, shoulder, or neck pain these compound exercises may not work very well, if at all. This leads to several questions such as how do you know if you have lower trapezius weakness? And if you do what are the best exercises to target this muscle to restore it back to its full function? In this article, I will discuss how to test and assess your lower trapezius strength and the best ways to improve it back to full capacity.
6 Strengthening Exercises To Correct A Winged Scapula
The winged scapula is one of the most common postural faults we see today. And even though we are talking about winged scapula in this article the information and exercises provided will relate to ALL shoulder injuries. The term winged scapula gets its name from its appearance, a wing-like resemblance, due to the medial border of the scapula sticking straight out from the back. As I mentioned at the start this is a postural fault that can greatly affect a person’s ability to lift, pull, and push weighty objects and can cause pain and discomfort with simple daily activities such as taking your shirt off or playing a sport. When pain sets in people resort to the treatment of trigger point massage, stretching, and acupuncture which all may help in some way but the real answer lies in providing stability. Why? The shoulder is such an amazing joint in that it has an incredible amount of mobility and is able to perform some incredibly powerful and dynamic movements like serving in tennis or simply throwing a ball. But this awesome mobility comes at a cost, as the stability of the shoulder can be very easily compromised. And when this happens is when injury and pain takes over. If we lose that stability, we get some extra mobility of the humeral head within the joint, and that begins to pinch some of the structures around it and you eventually end up with common postural problems like the winged scapula that progress to much worse problems such as injuries like a shoulder impingement or rotator cuff tears. In this article, we will provide you with some of the most effective and simple to do stability exercises that you can begin using to improve your posture and get your shoulder movement back, without pain and compensation.
How to Reverse Kyphosis & the Dowagers Hump Using Corrective Exercises
This is our follow up article to part one “What causes kyphosis and the dowagers hump” where we looked closely at the various reasons behind people developing this postural dysfunction. If you have not read that article yet, go back and read it now completing any of the exercises I am about to show you. It is extremely important to identify and change the source of the problem for your exercise program to have any chance of working. And to be perfectly honest once you have done that you are half way to the finish line. The exercises we are going to show in this article will finish the job and restore any lost stability and strength you have suffered, so you never return to the poor posture you once had. Okay let’s get started.
What Causes Kyphosis & the Development of a Dowagers Hump?
Most of us are very familiar with the person who has a hunched over posture that has what appears to be a hump on their upper back, known as a dowagers hump. This posture inevitably leads to chronic neck pain, shoulder problems, and even lower back pain and can be very difficult to reverse once it is developed. In the past we would normally only see this in the elderly but what we are starting to see these days is the onset of this problem in people much younger. It is even starting to get a different name, such as “text neck” or “I-phone hump”. The amount of people stuck in the looking down at their phone position is speeding up the rate of postural decline, and you can just imagine what things will be like in another 20 years if we do not begin to change our habits now. However, it is not just modern technology at fault as there are several other factors that contribute to creating this problem. In this article we explain in great detail how to identify these potential problems to correct your posture before it is too late.
Why You Should STOP Stretching Your Neck
The neck is one of the most difficult areas to work with as there is so many things that contribute to the onset of pain. Even your thoughts can affect the muscles and create a ton of trigger points and pain! When you consider it is a part of the complex shoulder region you can begin to see why so many people never find an answer to their problems. One of the biggest saboteurs is our instincts to constantly find ways to relieve the pain, instead of finding out WHY the pain is there in the first place. It makes perfect sense as to wanting to find a way to relieve the tension immediately by stretching the area that feels tight, however, when you understand how the neck is reacting to problems elsewhere, you can begin to see how our instincts are betraying us and setting our body up for much bigger problems. In this article, I will explain what the key causes of neck pain are and why stretching the tight neck muscles is not the solution to long term pain.
Why Lack Of Thoracic Mobility Is The Hidden Cause Of Chronic Pain
The numbers of people suffering from chronic back pain and neck pain due to extensive work at a computer or hovering over a mobile device is increasing rapidly. In today’s modern world more people are becoming sedentary, spending at least 10–15 hrs a day at work, in the car, at school, and home in a position of bad posture, that results in stiff hips and stiff thoracic spine. Stiffness in these two joints is a disaster to our joints as we need both of these areas to provide great mobility, in particular with rotation as used in walking. Lack of mobility at these two areas creates problems for joints above and below as the body searches for alternative methods to move. We have been so conditioned to react to injuries by using pain relief methods, as opposed to looking at WHY you got the problem in the first place. The thoracic region is so unique in that it really can create problems all throughout the body but it will not suffer with any pain, and go completely undetected with most treatments. In this article, I am going to explain exactly what happens when you lose thoracic mobility, what causes it, and what you can do to get it back.
How To Fix A Forward Head Posture Using A Combination Of Mobility & Strengthening Exercises
Over the past month I have had several discussions with clients who have severe pain in the neck, migraines, and some with jaw related problems that were all related to the same problem – a forward head posture. As the head moves forward, the neck straightens due to the fact that the body will try to keep the eyes lined up in a horizontal position. This is a necessary compensation to ensure you have good eyesight. Unfortunately, this places a great deal of strain on the neck structures as they need to balance the weight of the head which increases the further the head moves forward. Apart from the obvious neck pain that results from this, if left untreated this poor posture can lead to other chronic problems like migraines, jaw pain, poor breathing, weight gain, and overall poor health. Exercises commonly used to correct this condition can sometimes create more problems than they solve and also may miss out on addressing underlying dysfunctions altogether. In this article, I will share with you some of my best ways to address this all too common problem.