THERAPEUTIC GYMNASTICS FOR HEADACHE If you have a few minutes of free time and the opportunity to retire, try a short set of therapeutic exercises. These exercises will help you get rid of a headache - Sit on a chair. Keep your back straight, and your head freely, without effort, only under the influence of gravity, tilt to your chest. Hold this position for twenty seconds. Then a break for half a minute. And again tilt for 20 seconds. Repeat 15-16 times. - Sitting or standing, raise your hands to your head. Press the thumbs of each hand to the upper zygomatic arches, grasp the back of the head with the rest of the fingers. Look up. While inhaling for 10 seconds, try to tilt your head back while holding it with your hands. As you exhale, look down for 6-8 seconds, tilt your head to your chest as much as possible, stretching, but not straining the neck muscles. Repeat the inhale-exhale cycle 5-6 times. Physical exercises and physiotherapy exercises - To relieve a headache coming from the cervical spine, do this exercise: sitting on a chair, with one hand grab your head from above from the side in which the pain is felt more strongly. The index finger should be approximately at the level of the beginning of the ear. With a slight effort of the hand, turn your head to the “healthy” side. Press your free palm from below to the chin and cheek. While inhaling for 10 seconds, looking down, press your chin against the resistance of the lower palm. As you exhale, relax for 6-8 seconds and look up. Repeat the exercise 5-6 times, slightly changing the turn of the head. - If the headache comes from the back of the head, then the third exercise will be as follows: sit down, keep your head straight or slightly tilted forward. Grab it from above with your hand, as in the previous exercise. With your middle finger, feel between the first vertebra and the skull for a pain point. Press on it for one and a half to two minutes. Repeat 3-6 times. With the cessation of pain, stop the exercise. - In conclusion, perform a few tricks of acupuncture. Feel with the thumbs of both hands pain points between the skull and the first vertebra. Massage the points with both thumbs in a circular motion clockwise 15 times. Then press the points for one and a half to two minutes. Now with arms crossed, middle and ring fingers both hands for a minute, strongly massage the points at the end of the folds of the elbows from the outside and inside while raising and lowering your arms at the same time. Break - minute. Repeat up to 15 times. After that, for one and a half to two minutes, press with your thumb or forefinger on the point at the base of the nose, where the nose bridge ends and the mustache area begins. Then, for the same time, it is the turn of the point of intersection of the line of the large and index finger on the hands. To complete the exercise, for up to two minutes, press on the hollow point of the inner arch of the foot, which is formed when the toes are bent down.
If you have a headache, do not rush to take pills. They can and will save you from a headache, but they will not add health - that's for sure. So before you go to the medicine cabinet, try some yoga exercises that can cope with a headache better than pills.
The causes of headaches can be different. It could be neck tension, hunched shoulders, or back pain. The following postures help to remove these problems and thus get rid of the headache. You don't have to do all 6. You can choose any one, and if it doesn't help, try another one. The main thing before this is to listen to your body and understand what else, besides your head, hurts you.
Exercise #1
As I said, sometimes a headache can be caused by clamps in cervical region spine. Sitting in a comfortable position right hand on left side head and tilt your head slightly to the right.
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Hold this position for a few breaths and switch sides. During this exercise, the hand presses quite a bit on the head, stretching the cervical vertebrae.
Exercise #2
During this exercise, it is not at all necessary to place the foot completely on the floor (people with a good stretch can do this).
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This pose helps to take the pressure off your shoulders, as the wrists and forearms take the brunt of the load and increase blood flow to the head.
Exercise #3
Another forward bend exercise that is perfect if your headache is caused by tension in your shoulders. Sit on the floor so that there is a small distance between the shins and they lie parallel to each other. Bring your hands behind your back to the castle and slowly lean forward until your head touches the floor, folding into a slightly modified child's pose.
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Stay in this position for about 5 counts and remember to breathe deeply. Take your hands back so that you feel a slight stretch in the chest, shoulders and back of the neck.
Exercise #4
This exercise stretches the back of the neck and reduces tension in the back, which is also a common cause of headaches.
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During this exercise, do not place your hands too wide or far from your back. This pose makes your head light and light, stay in it for 5 counts. And if you feel comfortable enough in it, you can stay like that for a little longer.
Exercise #5
The pose is called "Happy Child" and it helps to get rid of the headache that is caused by the clamps in the back.
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Lie on your back with your knees bent and your arms around your hips or feet. outside. Stay in this position for a few minutes, and you can rock back and forth a little to increase the stretch in your hips and lower back.
Exercise #6
Lay a blanket against the wall and grab some pillows. Sit as close to a wall as possible, with your pelvis and lower back pressed against the folded towel. Lie on your back, lift your legs up and spread to the sides as far as the tendons allow you, spread your arms to the sides.
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Close your eyes and breathe calmly, stay in this position for as long as you feel comfortable.
Very often, to reduce headaches, a person resorts to the use of pills. But this approach without consulting a doctor is frivolous in relation to one's health. In the case when the headache appears as a result of tension in the neck, shoulders, back, some physical exercise And breathing exercises. Unlike drugs, they do not have a harmful effect on the body.
Breathing exercises
Yoga for headaches is the safest and most effective method getting rid of headaches. Performing special exercises is not difficult: they are simple, they can be performed at any place and age.
- First you need to develop the neck in all directions. Hands are freely located along the body. Sitting on a chair, you can take the lotus position, with your right hand to reach the left ear on top of the head. Then, under the pressure of the same hand, give the head an inclined position, and this exercise should be performed with little resistance. The duration of being in this state is about a minute. Then you need to repeat the same on the other side. Care must be taken to avoid stretching the neck muscles. If pain is felt during training, the resistance should be reduced. With the correct performance of the yoga exercise, only muscle tension should be felt.
- Open heart. This exercise will help to work out the muscles of the front of the neck. In addition, it has a relaxing effect on the back and strengthens, at the same time relieving tension, on the spine. Thanks to this, headaches will become less pronounced or completely disappear.
Starting position: sitting on your knees, hips touching the heels, feet together. From this position, you need to bend back, resting your palms on the floor 20 cm from your feet. The chest should be raised higher, and the head should be thrown back. The buttocks touch the heels, only the back bends. This position must be fixed for 35 seconds. After returning to the starting position: first you should raise your head, only then your chest.
- Camel. Starting position: kneeling, you need to lean on your feet with your palms, and bend with your body. Correct execution this exercise yoga involves the following points:
the line of the hips should be perpendicular to the floor surface;
gluteal muscles tense, arms straight;
head thrown back;
the muscles of the entire back participate in the deflection, muscle tension should be felt from the coccyx to the shoulders.
For shoulders. Starting position: sitting on your knees, you should upper part tilt your body forward and rest your forehead on the floor. Hold this position for a few seconds, this will allow the muscles of the lower back and spine to stretch.
Being in the same position, it is necessary to connect the hands behind the back and slowly twist them at the shoulders as far as possible. Again, fix the position. Next, you need to raise your hips and shift the reference point to the crown of your head. In this case, the joined hands should be, as much as possible, twisted at the shoulders.
After, after holding the pose a little, return to initial position. The return to it should be gradual, fixing all intermediate positions. Repeat these movements 3-4 more times. If the headache is due to tense shoulders, this yoga complex will bring relief.
Dolphin. This pose helps to relax the shoulders and upper back, the tense state of which is often the cause of headaches. First you need to get on all fours, arms and legs - shoulder and hip width apart, respectively. Next, the emphasis must be transferred to the elbows, and the buttocks raised. It is advisable to touch the floor with the entire surface of the feet. The head should be located between the forearms, and the gaze is directed towards the feet. While in this position, you need to take a few deep breaths and exhale.
Happy child. This pose also has a relaxing effect on the spine and back muscles and relieves pain in the head. First you need to accept lying position back to the floor and relax. The next movement is to take hold of the feet of the legs raised and bent at the knees. Next, you need to gently move the knees slightly apart to the sides to chest. When reaching the level of the armpits, you need to stay in this position for several minutes. In order to achieve maximum effect, you can sway from side to side. Thereby positive action will be given to each vertebra.
Relaxation of the body. In addition to special and result-oriented asanas in yoga exercises from headaches And includes the restoration complex. It includes poses, the performance of which is not accompanied by any tension, so they have no restrictions on the number and time.
To perform one of these yoga exercises, you need to sit next to the wall, for convenience, you can put something soft under the buttocks. The legs should be in a vertical position along the wall. The exercise is as follows: you need to spread your legs as wide as possible, while you do not need to tear your feet off the wall. The duration of being in this position depends on the individual capabilities of the person. You need to return to the starting position with small steps along the wall, keeping your legs vertical.
Despite the many positive aspects of yoga, exercises for relieving headaches are not available to everyone. Those who have cardiovascular diseases and malignant tumors are not recommended to take the described positions and postures.
If, as a result of examinations, the causes of headaches are not found, then the reason for this is a certain lifestyle. In this case, yoga for headaches will help relieve tension, thereby improving general state. As a result of its application, not only will the head feel lighter, but the muscles will also become stronger, the figure will tighten up, and the vital energy will return.
In the article, we will consider exercises for headaches.
Each of us faces during life such an unpleasant phenomenon as headache. This phenomenon can greatly complicate the life of a person and his full-fledged activity, deprive him of his ability to work. There are quite a few reasons for the appearance of such an unpleasant symptom as headache, as well as ways to deal with it. Pharmacies offer painkillers, antispasmodics, various medicines to strengthen blood vessels and improve blood circulation.
There is another way to relieve pain in the head. We are talking about performing special exercises for headaches, aimed at relieving spasm and tension in the muscles of the neck.
Description
Quite often, the appearance of pain in the head is manifested in conjunction with numbness of the neck. In most cases, the neck becomes numb from stiffness, weakness, or overexertion of the muscles. Sometimes there is a loss of sensitivity on one side.
Headache exercises are aimed at stretching tight muscles and relaxing them. When performing therapeutic exercises, you must remember the following recommendations:
1. Listen carefully to your own feelings. Stretching should not require special efforts or overvoltage.
2. Joints and muscles become more flexible after stretching exercises. Stretching should be carried out both before the main set of exercises, and after its completion.
3. Stretch slowly.
Exercise
Exercises for headaches with cervical osteochondrosis, which can relieve muscle spasm, stop overstrain, are performed easily and naturally, without effort and lengthy preparation. The following exercises are considered the most effective for eliminating headaches:
1. Pressing your palms to the back of the head, push your head forward, while resisting movement. Hold the pose for 5 seconds, then slowly relax. The exercise is performed in three circles three times.
2. Put your hand on one side of your head. Overcoming resistance, you need to get your ear to your shoulder. You can help yourself with your hand. Hold in the pose for 5 seconds, then relax and repeat on the other side. The exercise is also performed in three circles on each side alternately.
3. Put both hands on the forehead. Push your head back with resistance. Hold the pose for a few seconds, then relax and repeat three times for three rounds.
4. Put your right hand on your left temple and try to turn your chin to your right shoulder, while resisting. Repeat on the other side. Repeat three rounds three times on each side.
What other headache exercises are there?
Muscle spasm exercises
Often the cause of pain is cervical osteochondrosis. To relieve muscle spasm and thereby relieve pain, you can perform the following exercises:
1. Standing or sitting, you must slowly lower your head as low as possible. Then, also slowly, the head returns to its original position and leans back. It is very important to pay attention to those areas where crackling, clicking or pain occurs. The exercise is repeated six times. If the pain after doing the gymnastics does not go away, you should consult a doctor and examine the upper part of the spinal column.
2. Head turns to the left, then to the right. In this case, attention should be paid to the differences between the sensations in one side of the neck and in the other. In each position, you need to linger for a few seconds, then relax. Repeat six times.
3. Gently bring the shoulders forward, repeat six times. When performing the exercise, tension is felt in the back of the neck muscles.
4. In a sitting or standing position, lower your chin to your chest. Hold the pose for five seconds and relax the muscles, repeat six times. The tension is felt in the upper back and neck.
5. Sitting in a comfortable position, interlace your fingers behind your head. Lean forward slowly, pushing your head with your hands until your neck muscles are stretched. Return to starting position, repeat the exercise six times.
About the benefits of stretching
Stretching helps the muscles to be in good shape, and performing exercises against headaches increases their endurance. If a person has weak neck muscles, physiotherapy will be very helpful. In the case of knotty muscles, stretching helps to improve the general condition of a person.
Breathing technique
There are also special exercises for headaches and tension.
In the vast majority of cases, pain in the head occurs due to overexertion of the muscles of the back and neck. Yoga offers a range simple exercises, including respiratory, which will help to quickly and effectively cope with pain. Thus, the following breathing exercises that even a beginner can do.
Blowing energy channels
Sitting on the floor, you need to take any comfortable posture and completely relax the whole body. Next, one nostril is closed with a finger of the hand and a two-minute slow and deep inhalation and exhalation of air is carried out through the free nostril. Then the nasal passages change and the cycle repeats. The exercise is performed until the pain in the head subsides.
Cooling breath
Sitting in the lotus position, you need to straighten your back, stick out your tongue, rolling it into a tube and systematically, breathe as deeply as possible. Inhalation is made through the mouth, exhalation through the nose with a tightly closed mouth cavity. The exercise is repeated until relief is obtained in the head.
These two simple exercises will help provide the body, including the brain, with oxygen and eliminate tension and spasm, thereby relieving pain.
yoga exercises for headaches
Yoga involves performing exercises aimed at eliminating stiffness and spasm in different parts of the body. Consider a few options that can relieve headache pain:
1. The following exercise will help relieve tension from the neck with a headache from osteochondrosis: sitting on the floor and cross-legged or on a chair with legs apart, pull your right hand to your right knee or hold on to a chair, left hand is placed on the head and gently tilts it to the left side. It is important to hold the knee or the chair. The delay in the pose should be at least one minute, after which the sides change and the exercise is performed again.
2. Clamps in the shoulders can also cause pain in the head. To eliminate tension, you need to sit on the floor, bend your legs and spread them apart. The big toes should be placed opposite each other. A deep breath is taken, and as you exhale, you should stretch forward, stretching the spine. At the peak of the stretch, you should linger for a few seconds. Next, the arms are extended, connected to the castle at the feet and stretched up as high as possible. As you exhale, lower your arms and shift your body weight forward and lift your hips. After fixing the position for a few seconds, relax and repeat 5-10 more times, depending on the capabilities of the physical plane.
3. The condition of the back and vertebrae is beneficially affected by an exercise called "dog looking down." To do this, you should stand in a triangle pose, resting your feet and palms on the floor, the tailbone looks up. While inhaling, lower your elbows to the floor, while exhaling, raise your hips. Do not take your feet off the floor, they should be completely pressed. The head is down, the neck is relaxed. Do 5-6 breath cycles.
4. To relieve tension from the lower spine is also provided special exercise. Lying on the floor, you should bend your legs and clasp your feet with your hands. Next, the knees are slowly divorced and lowered to the armpits. Swinging to the sides, you should hold out in the pose for as long as possible.
5. After the complex is completed, the muscles are relaxed. To do this, the blanket is rolled up and placed against the wall. Lying on your back facing the wall and putting your buttocks on the pillow, you need to raise your legs to a vertical position and put them against the wall. The legs are slowly and systematically spread apart as wide as possible, the position is fixed for 30 seconds. Next, the legs are brought together, bent at the knees. The exercise is repeated 5-10 times.
Yoga practitioners have proven that all systems and parts of the body in our body are interconnected. By relieving tension from the entire spine, it will be possible to get rid of the headache problem. These exercises are simple to perform, but effective enough to eliminate tension and stretch the spine and muscles.
Thanks to this, the blood begins to circulate better and provide the brain with oxygen, thereby expanding the blood vessels and eliminating pain. However, yoga is not suitable for everyone, some people should not do this practice.
Contraindications
Do not perform with a headache in the following cases:
- In the presence of diseases of the heart and blood vessels.
- Malignant tumors, including on the spine.
- Against the background of colds.
- At elevated body temperature.
If a person has one of these problems, coupled with pain in the head, you should visit a specialist. In other cases, yoga is not dangerous.
Conclusion
Regardless of the cause of the pain in the head, before taking the pill, it makes sense to try to perform the listed exercises. Perhaps the cause of discomfort lies in problems with the spine or tense muscles that should be relaxed.
We have reviewed the most popular exercises for relieving headaches.
The best way to deal with headaches is to strengthen nervous system. And the most accessible of these methods are gymnastics, self-massage and muscle relaxation. The fact is that all the processes occurring in our body are controlled by the central nervous system. But there is also Feedback, which makes it possible to stimulate it by influencing the muscles and organs. Thus, any activity that has a beneficial effect on our body can simultaneously harden the nervous system.
Therefore, with a tension headache that occurs due to mental overload, do not rush to the pharmacy. To get rid of such sensations, it is enough to walk on fresh air and daily gymnastics for 10-15 minutes. In addition, at sedentary work it is necessary to do several exercises 2-3 times a day to strengthen the muscles of the face and neck.
Exercises for the muscles of the face
There are several exercises for the muscles of the face and head that help get rid of tension headaches. They are recommended to be performed at the first signs of its occurrence. In order to be able to control every movement of the muscles of the face, at first you will need a mirror.
1. Raise your eyebrows, then try to relax the corresponding facial muscles as much as possible so that they lower themselves.
2. Do the same, but alternately with each eyebrow. This exercise requires some skills, but at the very beginning of classes it is permissible to hold one eyebrow with your hand.
3. Quickly close your eyelids and bring them together eyeballs to the bridge. Then relax the corresponding facial muscles so that the eyes return to their normal position. You will have to perform this exercise without a mirror, focusing only on your own feelings.
4. Try to do the same, but alternately with each eye.! In this case, you can press the palm of your hand on the corresponding side of the face so that the corner of the lips is slightly raised.
5. Furrow your eyebrows strongly, then try to relax your facial muscles. After that, put your palms on your forehead and bring your eyebrows to the bridge of your nose.
6. Open your mouth as wide as possible - so that the lower jaw drops (as when yawning). Then slowly relax your facial muscles and return to the starting position.
7. Open your mouth about halfway and move your jaw to the right and left.
8. Wrinkle your nose strongly - as if you smelled an unpleasant smell, then relax the corresponding muscles and smoothly return to the starting position.
In addition to the above exercises, it is useful to make a few grimaces - this also helps to get rid of discomfort masks for tension headaches.
Exercises for the muscles of the neck
1. Sitting on a chair, tilt your head down and forward so that your chin touches your chest, then return to the starting position. Repeat this exercise 3-5 times. Breathing is arbitrary.
2. Sitting on a chair, tilt your head back. Repeat the exercise 3-5 times.
3. Tilt your head to the sides: first to the right shoulder, then to the left. Repeat the exercise 3-5 times for each side.
