June is Migraine Awareness Month - How Your Physical Therapist Can Help!

Your head is pounding, light and sounds are irritating, you see auras of light, and your stomach is queasy. Not a fun place to be. These migraines symptoms can be debilitating and leave you curled up on your bed in the dark. Can anything make this go away? Do you just ride it out? Do you take medication hoping it will take the edge off? Well there is more you can do to help manage and even prevent migraines.

Physical Therapists are skilled at assessing causes of migraines and developing a plan to treat them. Of course there are many layers to the causes of migraines, including: hormones, stress, food triggers, sleep patterns, environmental factors, etc. However, imbalances in your muscles and bones also play a big role, and this is where PT comes in.

A Physical Therapist will evaluate what muscles are tight, what muscles are weak, what joints are stiff, and what joints are loose. From there, your posture will be assessed and then an overview of your daily activities and positions will be taken. Armed with all of this information the PT will create a plan of care that likely includes hands on treatment of your muscles and joints, exercises to stretch and strengthen, and instruction on how to improve your posture in all activities through your day. If you do not already have other practitioners on your care team, the PT may also recommend evaluations by a neurologist, naturopathic doctor, massage therapist, acupuncturist, etc. to help address the other triggers.

After working with the Physical Therapist for a few visits you should notice that your migraines are less intense, shorter in duration, and/or do not happen as frequently. Unfortunately, we cannot make migraines completely go away, but they should be much more manageable. To help with this, you will have a home exercise program to help decrease symptoms when they arise, as well as help prevent them from happening. As an example, this newsletter contains the Top 3 Migraine exercises, which you can get started on today.

So, if you experience migraines, or frequent headaches, call the nearest Therapeutic Associates office and make an appointment. And if you are unsure if PT is right for you, we offer 15 minute Free Consultations where you can ask the PT questions and make a plan that works for you. If you or any of your family/friends have questions, they can also directly email our Physical Therapist: Lindsy Palisca PT, DPT at lpalisca@taiweb.com.

Posture and Migraines

If you are experiencing migraines or frequent headaches, poor posture could be the culprit.  Our modern lives are largely to blame for this.  Hunching over computers, sitting for hours on end, and sprawling out on the sofa can all lead to back and neck pain which can lead to a headache, and ultimately, a migraine.

Other factors that could be causing your poor posture and associated migraine include:

- Stress
- Too much or too little muscle tone
- High heeled shoes
- Pregnancy
- Workstations that are not correctly set up
- Carrying heavy backpacks
- Countertops that are too low or too high
- Holding a small child or baby

While you can’t always avoid picking up your children or eliminate stress, it is other lifestyle choices that can help you to improve your posture.  Stretching and strengthening exercise help to keep your joints mobile and your body active.  When you improve muscle tone, you will find that your natural stance changes and this has a very positive effect on posture and frequency of migraines.

Your physical therapist specializes in diagnosing and treating all forms of migraine and headaches.  We give individualized advice and activities to improve your posture, your lifestyle, and migraine symptoms.

Top 3 Migraine Exercises

Shoulder Blade Retraction:

Pinch shoulder blades down and back.

Repeat as many times through the day as you can.

Upper Neck Stretch (lying on back):

With head on 1-2 pillows. Gently tuck chin and then lift head. Keeping chin tucked lower head. Then relax.

Repeat 30 times per set. Do 1 sets per session. Do 1 sessions per day.

Low Back Rotation Stretch:

Lie on side with arms out straight. Rotate spine bringing top arm over and trying to put shoulder blade on the bed. Hold 30 seconds.

Repeat 3 times per side. Do 2 sessions per day.

Hike It Baby!

Come join us for our next "Hike It Baby" hike along the Washougal River Greenway Trail. Our hike is free to join and open to anyone!

June 17th - 11:30am
Start and finish at our clinic (3180 NE 3rd Ave. Camas, Wa 98607)

Hike Details:

Level of Hike - Green (carrier/stroller)
Length of Hike - approximately 2 miles
Kid friendly (toddler included) - Yes
Parking - at the clinic
Bathrooms - Yes
Changing Table/Station - Yes
Dogs Allowed - No

Click to view our Hike It Baby event website >

About Hike It Baby:

Hike it Baby is a new parents group in over 90 cities around the country dedicated to getting families together and out into nature with newborns and little ones. We have a wide variety of hikes and urban strolls and the best part is all of our hikes are FREE!

Pilates for Migraines

As we focus on migraines this month you may be wondering how Pilates is relevant to the discussion.  By definition, Pilates is a type of exercise designed to increase flexibility and strengthen and balance the body through low impact, fluid movements. 

Throughout the years, Pilates has gained a reputation of being a good core workout and a way to tone your abdominals but it is so much more than that.  The practice of Pilates involves controlled breathing, whole body strengthening and concentration on spatial awareness.  Many migraines can be triggered by poor posture or weak muscles in the neck and believe it or not, shallow unproductive breathing.  Pilates is a wonderful avenue to begin working on improved strength of postural muscles because it is friendly to all fitness levels. 

Pilates mat and reformer classes are offered at our Therapeutic Associates Vancouver location by Kate Manning.  Kate is a STOTT PILATES® Certified Instructor and is offering a 15% discount on all package purchases in June or July, which makes this a great time to start.

Visit their website for more details or to register for classes >