Headaches in Children
One cause of headaches is frequently overlooked. Posture and Myofascial trigger point referral from tight muscles.
Obviously when a child suffers from headaches on an ongoing basis, they need to be checked out, however quite often there can be a very simple explanation.
As part of our biomechanic assessment we will ask if the child suffers from headaches, and are quite often told that they do, and in several instances over the past few years we have been told that the child has been admitted to hospital for investigations, and have had many tests, scans and assessments carried out. During the course of our assessment the cause of the headaches often becomes apparent.
Today children’s posture is a huge issue. They sit more than the generations who went before us, they are more round shouldered, they have poor core strength, they spend many hours a day on digital appliances be it X boxes or mobile phones.
All of these can contribute to the development of headaches.
If a child has
- Poor Posture – causing the spine to curl forwards and the head to drop
- Round shoulders – tight pectoral muscles in the front
- Raised shoulders – over worked upper trapezius muscles and underworked lower trapezius muscles
- Poor Core Strength around the shoulders – weak stabilizers of the shoulder blade
- A poking chin – shortening of the muscles at the back of the neck as they raise the head to see
they are likely to have myofascial trigger points develop in their muscles which can actually cause pain to be referred into the head giving them headaches.
These headaches will become considerably worse if the child is studying, under stress or spending too much time in front of digital media devices.
All the above causes of headaches will be more prevalent if the child has any of the following
- Flat feet
- Turned in hips
- Sticky out bum or flexed hips
- Short stride in walk and run
- Weak core strengh
- Stands with arms folded behind the back
- Rounded upper back
Treatment for Headaches in Children
We address these problems by doing a detailed thorough assessment which will identify biomechanical deviations. We then give the child exercises and activities to reduce the problem.
We also do an analysis of the child’s daily activities and encourage the child to reduce their digital media time and increase their activities.
As well as our individual assessments and treatment programmes, our back class, pilates and Core Agility classes are designed to address these issues.
