Got a Tension Headache? Try These Stretches & Exercises for INSTANT Pain Relief!

Looking for ways to relieve tension headaches? Well this is the video for you. Hey everybody, it's Doctor Jo and Sleepy Kali, and today I'm going to show you stretches and exercises to relieve tension headaches. So let's get started. So before we get started, you're going to need a towel for the last stretch. It doesn't have to be like a long beach towel, it can be something like a kitchen towel. So a little longer than just a dish towel, but maybe something like a dish towel, and we'll use that at the end. So one of my favorites for tension headaches to kind of get those muscles relaxed is a chin tuck. So chin tucks for me are not tucking down and in, but actually taking your chin and tucking it back. So a lot of times I like to just use my finger as a target. I think it kind of helps you understand how to move the head. So I just place my finger on my chin like this, and then pull back into that chin tuck, and then just hold right there. So you can see my chin kind of stays level. I'm not going up or down for this particular exercise, but just going back and holding it, and the finger is there because a lot of times if you just hold for about three to five seconds, it doesn't have to be very long, then when you relax, there's a little bit of space in between, and that's just because it's resetting those neck muscles. So a lot of times with the tension headache back here where those muscles have a lot of tension and they're really tight, those chin tucks just kind of help reset everything. So it's a nice kind of exercise slash stretch. So I would just say do those maybe five to ten times, holding it three to five seconds. So the next exercises are going to be isometric exercises. Again for tension headaches, a lot of times those muscles are really tight. Isometric exercises do a great job of contracting those muscles, but not making big movements that might be painful or uncomfortable, and when you hold that contraction but you're not making a big movement, a lot of times it will release that tension, especially in the neck area. So for the isometric exercise, you're contracting the muscle but you're not moving. So with this one, this is the movement you're doing a side bend this way, but you're not going to move your head. You're just going to place either your fingers on your temple, or maybe the palm of your hand on your the side of your head on your temple here. And so I'm doing this, but my hand is going to stop. So I'm pushing gently into my hand. So I'm not doing like a hundred percent push where it's really, you know, I'm really trying my hardest. Maybe just starting off with like 30 to 40 percent just pushing into the hand. So again, this is the motion I'm doing, but I'm pushing in that 30 to 40 percent, maybe just five seconds or so holding it, and then relaxing. I like alternating sides back and forth, then holding it there that three to five seconds. You can see some of those muscles activating there, and then relaxing. A lot of times that helps relieve that tension. So again, that three to five second hold, maybe five to ten of those, and then you're going to do another isometric, which is rotation or the cervical rotation. So now this is just the movement you're doing, that rotation side to side, but again you're using your hand to stop that movement. So I'm just gently pushing my head into my hand. So I'm not pushing my hand into my head, I'm pushing my head into my hand, that 30 to 40 percent, and then relaxing. Sometimes you might get a little poppy feeling in your neck. As long as it's not painful, that's okay. That's just kind of that adjustment that you're feeling. And then again, I like alternating sides. You don't have to, but I feel like it just gives each side a little bit of a break. So again, you know, five to ten on each side, that three to five second hold. So after you get that kind of loosened up a little bit, then stretches will really help kind of release that tension as well. And one of my favorite stretches, if you've seen some of my neck videos or my headache videos, is an upper trap stretch. And so that's that muscle up there, it goes all the way up into the neck, down into the shoulders, holds a lot of tension, can cause a lot of pain. So getting a gentle stretch really kind of helps that out. You can do it a couple different ways. On the side I'm going to stretch, I'm just sitting on my hand. That just keeps that shoulder down. And so you don't have to sit on it, but it really it gets you a better stretch if you can do it comfortably. Taking the other hand, just bringing it up overhead, fingers kind of touching my ear on this side, and then I'm just gently pulling over this way until I kind of feel a stretch in that upper trap area. So I'm still keeping my head forward, I'm not turning down or looking up. You can do those, but those get a little bit slightly different stretches. You want to hold this stretch for a full 30 seconds. So really to get those muscles to relax, it needs to be that 30 second stretch. Usually if it's really tight, about 20 to 25 seconds, a lot of times you can feel it start relaxing, and then you can gently pull it a little bit more. Again, I like to alternate sides. If sitting on your hand is not very comfortable, you can place it behind your back and do the stretch. So again, I'm coming up and over, touching my ear, gently pulling over, and holding that stretch for 30 seconds. You don't have to again do either way with the other arm. You can just place it down. I'm still getting a good stretch, but I'm feeling a little bit better stretch if I, you know, make sure I'm keeping that shoulder down by keeping the arm behind my back or actually sitting on my hand. I feel, I definitely feel a better stretch with that. So 30 seconds, three times on each side. If you want to follow along with me in a real-time video, I have a whole lot of real-time follow-along videos. You can click on that link up there for those. So then the next one is going to be a levator scapulae stretch. This is another one of my favorites. The levator scapulae muscle is one of those muscles that when it gets tight and irritated, it can cause a lot of tension and pain because it's the one that elevates or lifts our scapula or our shoulder blades. So if you're holding a lot of tension, a lot of times you might kind of sit like this, or you might be on the computer like this, and then those muscles get really tight and irritated and can cause a lot of tension and pain and then cause those headaches in there. So with this one, it's the same kind of thing with the hand placement. You can do it a couple different ways. I've always learned if I'm stretching this side, I take this hand and kind of almost like I'm trying to push that shoulder blade down and bring that elbow up. I know this is a little tough for people, so I'll show you a different way to do it, but this is the way I've learned. Then you're going to take the other hand and place it, I kind of say like almost like you're putting a helmet on, up and over. So now this is behind your head, not on the side, but behind your head. And you're going to turn your head about a 45 degree angle, almost like you're looking at your opposite knee, and then just try and tuck your nose into your armpit. So I'm just going down and in, tucking this way, and I'm feeling a nice stretch where that levator scapulae is right there. And then again, holding that stretch for 30 seconds, relaxing, switching sides. So I know again, this might be uncomfortable for people, especially if you have some shoulder issues or some other neck issues. So you can also do the same. You can place it behind your back, or you can just kind of hold it down, keep that shoulder blade down. So you can go behind your back, hand up like a helmet, and then just tucking that nose into the armpit about that 45 degree angle. So I'm not completely over to the side, you know, I'm kind of at that angle in there. And then holding that again for that 30 seconds, doing that three times on each side. So grab your towel, if you've got it, like I said, a little bit longer, it doesn't have to be super long. And so this is going to be, we call them snags, but it's really just a rotation with some pressure to get each segment of the neck kind of loosened up and moving. And so this is a great way, again, if you've got that tension, sometimes if it's more in the spine, you know, just not kind of where it's supposed to be, maybe out of alignment. If you want to argue, you know, some fluid bubbles in there that you need worked out, this is a great way to do it. So I'm going to take my opposite hand and grab it here. So I'm going to be pulling down with this side. I'm going to take this side, so I'm kind of crossing my arms here. I'm bringing this towel up over my ear area, and my chin area. So not down here, but up over my chin and my ear area. And so I'm pulling down with this side, and I'm going to pull up and over with this side. So I'm kind of turning my head and then pulling this way. And so that's getting a really great stretch in my neck. This doesn't have to be a full 30-second hold. If you can hold it that long, that's great. Sometimes, again, this is kind of hard because you're actually pulling with your arms and your hands. But what that towel does, again, is it keeps one segment of the spine kind of in place, and it helps rotate. So it's not just rotating the whole neck, it's kind of rotating at each segment. So then you can kind of, you know, go a little bit higher with the towel on your neck. You can go a little bit lower with the towel on your neck. But again, then you're grabbing opposite side, hold or stabilize the towel there, and then coming up and over, kind of over that ear and that chin area. I'm pulling down with this one, and up and over with that one. Now I'm getting a great stretch there. I got a small little pop. I don't know if you heard it, maybe not. It was really, really small. But that gives you a nice great stretch to get rid of that tension. So there you have it. Those are ways to relieve tension headaches. If you'd like to check out some of my other videos, click on the link up there. And don't forget to subscribe by clicking down there. And remember, be safe, have fun, and I hope you feel better soon.