Shrink Wrapped Headaches

Have you ever had a headache where it feels like your brain is being shrink wrapped?  In 2003, connections between the muscles in the upper neck and the spinal meninges were discovered. (Paper documenting the discovery.) Incredibly, these kinds of discoveries are still happening.  With all the doctors and all the technology studying the human body, I am blown away that we don’t know all the anatomical connections in the body yet.  It keeps me humble and open minded when it comes to new things in healthcare.

The meninges are 3 layers of thin tissue that surround the brain and spinal cord.

The muscles associated are located right at the top of the back of the neck.  When they tighten up, they pull the meninges tight.  As you can imagine, that would put pressure around the brain.  Pressure on the brain is a bad thing and can cause headaches.

Treatment for Shrink Wrapped Headaches

The good news is that this kind of headache can be fixed!  Massage is an awesome treatment you can incorporate, whether at home or by a professional massage therapist.

There are some really simple techniques that can help bring relief.  For example, if you can get someone to help, have them place their hands like this photo:

Position of the hands for treating headaches.

Then lie down so that it looks something like this:

From this position have your helper move their fingers along the base of the skull and find sore spots.  When a sore spot is found, apply pressure there until the soreness lets up.  Often times this can provide substantial relief.

If this kind of headache occurs often, it means that the upper neck is not working correctly.  Good chiropractic care is the perfect treatment for these kinds of headaches because it restores normal function to the spine.  When the neck is working properly, the muscles don’t go into spasm and the meninges aren’t under tension, so the head doesn’t ache!  I have had the joy of seeing many people over the last 30 years get relief from these terrible headaches.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.