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That tight band of pain around your head, the heaviness behind your eyes, or the dull ache that creeps in by the afternoon is more than just stress. Tension headaches are the most common type of headache, yet often the most overlooked. You don’t have to power through them anymore.
You don’t have to keep reaching for pain relievers or waiting for your headaches to fade on their own. Our integrated, hands-on approach can relieve muscular tension, restore healthy movement, and help prevent future episodes. Let’s uncover the root cause of your tension headaches. Schedule a consultation today with one of our expert sports chiropractic physicians at Hughes Health and take your first step toward relief!
About Tension Headaches
& Anatomy That Contributes
Tension headaches often feel like a constant pressure or dull ache around the forehead, temples, or the back of the head and neck. They’re caused by muscle tension, typically in the upper back, shoulders, neck, and scalp. These muscles can tighten due to stress, poor posture, or long hours sitting at a desk and when they do, they create tension that radiates into the head.
Key muscles involved include the trapezius, levator scapulae, sternocleidomastoid, and suboccipitals, which connect your neck and shoulders to your skull. When these muscles become overworked or strained, they can compress nerves and restrict blood flow, leading to that all-too-familiar headache pain.
Common Causes of Tension Headaches
Understanding Why It Happens
Tension headaches can have a variety of triggers, including:
Poor Posture: Slouching at a desk or looking down at your phone for hours can put strain on the neck and upper back muscles.
Stress & Mental Fatigue: Emotional tension often manifests physically in the form of tightened muscles.
Sleep Disturbances: Poor sleep posture or inadequate rest can leave the body in a constant state of tension.
Jaw Clenching or Teeth Grinding: These habits can strain the muscles at the base of the skull and the TMJ region.
Sedentary Lifestyle: Lack of movement weakens postural muscles and contributes to tightness in the neck and shoulders.
Common Conditions Related to Tension Headaches
Tension headaches often coexist with or are mistaken for other issues, such as:
Cervicogenic Headaches: These originate in the cervical spine but can feel similar due to overlapping muscular tension.
TMJ Dysfunction: Jaw tension can contribute to both localized facial pain and radiating headaches.
Neck Strain or Sprain: Previous injuries or chronic stiffness in the neck may predispose someone to recurrent headaches.
Myofascial Trigger Points: Small knots in the muscles of the upper back and neck can refer pain to the head.
Postural Syndrome: Long-standing posture imbalances create continuous strain on neck and shoulder muscles, often resulting in daily or chronic headaches.
Treatments for Tension Headaches
Find Relief Once & For All
Before we are able to treat your headaches at Hughes Health, we must perform a detailed consultation and examination. We start with a one-on-one consultation where our doctors truly listen. We want to understand how your headaches are affecting your life, whether it's keeping you from working, exercising, or simply enjoying time with family. This conversation helps us gather key details that point us toward the root cause of your pain.
In the examination, we assess your movement, muscles, ligaments, and joints using chiropractic, orthopedic, and functional movement testing. Pain is your body’s way of signaling that something isn’t working right. Our job is to find out why. Once we pinpoint the cause, we create a personalized treatment plan to restore function and get you back to living pain-free without unnecessary medications or surgery.
Sports Chiropractic: More Than Just Adjustments
At Hughes Health, we believe true recovery goes beyond spinal adjustments and manipulation. While we are chiropractors, we don’t just focus on your joints. We take a whole-body approach through Sports Rehabilitation to target the muscles and tissues that support you. Your body is more than just bones and joints, and your care should reflect that. By addressing movement, strength, and stability, we help you heal faster, stay active, and prevent future injuries so you can get back to doing what you love without limitations.
PiezoWave Focused Shockwave Therapy: Break Through Stubborn Pain
For chronic tension headaches and the muscular pain, PiezoWave Shockwave Therapy uses focused and targeted sound waves to:
Break up scar tissue and adhesions
Increase blood flow for faster healing
Stimulate natural tissue repair—without surgery or downtime
Deep Tissue Class IV Laser Therapy: Heal from the Inside Out
Our Class IV Deep Tissue Laser uses light therapy to reduce pain and inflammation at the cellular level. This advanced treatment:
Boosts your body’s natural healing process
Reduces pain and inflammation in just 5-10 minutes
Feels like a gentle, warming sensation—no discomfort, just relief
Spinal Decompression: Relieve Pressure, Restore Function
If you're struggling with the neck tightness associated with tension headaches, Spinal Decompression Therapy provides a gentle, sustained stretch to:
Reduce pressure on your spine and nerves
Guide discs back into proper position
Work alongside chiropractic care and corrective exercises to help you heal and prevent future injuries
Soft Tissue Manual Therapy: Digging Deep
At Hughes Health, we specialize in a wide variety of techniques to address the soft tissue causes of the pain.
Dry Needling: This targets tight or dysfunctional muscles by inserting small acupuncture needles into specific muscles and their trigger points to release tension and promote muscle recovery.
Fire Cupping: Using heated cups to create a suction effect on the skin helps increase blood flow to relieve muscle tightness and reduce pain. This warming effect has been shown to be more effective than the dry suction counterpart.
Graston Technique: Using specialized tools, we gently break up adhesions in your muscles and tendons, improving mobility and encouraging proper tissue healing.
Myofascial Release: Active Release Technique (ART), also known as manual trigger point release, takes your muscles through dynamic movement to release tension and alleviate pain at its source.
Sport Rehab and Custom Exercises: Build Strength, Prevent Injury
Pain relief is just the first step. Staying pain-free while moving and grooving is the goal. Our Custom Therapeutic Exercise Programs help you:
Strengthen muscles and improve mobility
Fix imbalances that cause recurring pain
Get back to doing what you love with confidence
The Right Care, Every Time
At Hughes Health, your recovery comes first. While we specialize in advanced chiropractic care and personalized treatment plans, we also know when you need more. If our exam reveals that additional care is necessary, we’ll connect you with our trusted network of physical therapists, orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, and pain specialists. No guesswork, no wasted time—just the right care for the best results.
Your health is our priority. Let’s get you on the path to recovery today!
Why Choose
Hughes Health?
We take pride in providing evidence-based non-invasive approaches to healthcare. Our goal is to identify the root cause of your discomfort and pain to then provide effective and personalized treatment plans to help you achieve long-lasting results. If you're experiencing any of the conditions listed above, don't hesitate to contact us.