Have you noticed that when you get headaches, your jaw can hurt during or afterwards? Do you find that when you're stressed or anxious, the jaw or around the front of your mouth can be really tender? These could all be signs that you're clenching and grinding your jaw involuntarily. This presentation is more common than you think. And today I'm going to run you through my top five tips to manage your jaw clenching and grinding at home.

First, it's important to discuss the anatomy of the jaw and how it relates to your headaches and migraines. The main brain of your jaw is called your mandible, which is the brain that connects into the head through a ball and socket joint. The mandible itself is held by a bunch of really strong musculature that help you do things like talking, eating, and drinking. Your upper cervical vertebrae are very closely related to this area as well. Meaning, if your jaw is dysfunctional, it can lead to problems with the upper cervical spine and vice versa...

Do you feel like your pain could be linked to stress? Are you constantly complaining of headaches, sore shoulders, tight jaw, or sore neck?

Most of us know that stress can have a big impact on our mental wellbeing, but did you know that excessive stress can also have an effect on our physical body and behaviors too?

Hi everyone! My name is Helen and I'm an osteopath here at Melbourne Headache Solutions. Today, I want to talk to you all about the physical signs of stress, what to look out for, and what you can do about it.

We all have stress in our lives. It could be from things like work deadlines and traffic, family drama, and more. When we have stress, whether it’s short term or long term, our bodies release certain hormones called adrenaline and cortisol. Now these are known as a fight or flight response. A small amount of these hormones can actually be quite beneficial. These help heighten our alertness, increase our focus, and are really useful in emergencies. However,...

You've probably heard us use the term brainstem sensitization as the underlying cause of chronic headaches and migraines before. So, what does this mean and most importantly, what does it mean in connection to your headaches and migraines?

Hi, I'm Dr. Beth, osteopath here at Melbourne Headache Solutions.

First and foremost, there's a really big difference between acute headaches and chronic headaches. Acute headaches are like you've cracked your neck, you've woken up, you've got a headache, and it disappears in a couple of hours or maybe in a day or so. But you're not really a headache or migraine sufferer. They just pop up occasionally sporadically or, you know, you get dehydrated on like a 30° day, you drink some water, and hey, it disappears.

So, there's a big difference between that and a long-term chronic headache migraine sufferer, where they keep coming back again and again, and again and again, and you just don't know what to do about it. You've had them for months,...

Do you wake up with a sore or stiff jaw in the morning? Do you wake up with headaches or migraines regularly? Do you often find yourself holding tension in through your jaw? During periods of higher stress do you notice that your jaw can be more achy or that your teeth might hurt? These are some signs that you may be a clencher or grinder of your teeth and clenching/grinding is actually more common than you may think. Therefore we are going to go through my 4 top tips to help manage and decrease jaw clenching and grinding to help decrease your headaches and migraines. 

Firstly it is important to discuss the anatomy of the jaw and how it relates to headaches and migraines. The main bone of the jaw is the mandible, which is the bone that connects into the head through a ball and socket joint.The mandible itself is held to the head by several strong muscles for you to do things like talking and eating. Your upper cervical vertebrae are very closely connected to this area as...

The AFL recently changed its Concussion Return to Play Guidelines from six up to 12 days. Well, this means that plays might miss a game. It's also a big step forward in allowing players to recover and minimize their risk of long-term repercussions of repeated head trauma and concussions. This is a good step forward in concussion awareness which is such an overlooked yet potentially long-lasting injury that many AFL players unfortunately suffer. This is partly because it's not a visible injury compared to other things such as a broken arm or a sprained ankle where you can specifically see the injury or when it's guarded by the obvious pain if you return to games or training too soon.

What is a concussion?

A concussion is considered a mild traumatic brain injury that is in a post or moderate or severe where there are no visible structural changes in imaging reports, such as x-rays or MRIs.

This includes things such as fractures or bleeding and it occurs when there's a sudden...

“I'm always tired!”

“I feel like I'm lacking in energy.”

“I don't have the motivation.”

These are really common statements we hear from individuals experiencing constant headaches and migraines. Today, we'll look into the connection between constant lethargy and headaches and explore ways to address these challenges.

Hello, I'm Dr. Beth, an osteopath here at Melbourne Headache Solutions.

It's very common for those with chronic headaches and migraines to say they're always tired, have constant headaches, and feel low on energy. Understanding why this happens can help us find ways to feel better.

Feeling extremely tired, having a headache, lacking energy, and suddenly feeling weak can all be signs that something isn't quite right with your health. These symptoms could be caused by various things, such as:

Not drinking enough water: This can make you feel tired, give you headaches, and make you feel weak.
Not eating well: Not getting enough essential...

Do you often find yourself battling headaches, whether they're pressing at the front, squeezing the sides, or causing discomfort at the back of your head? Are these headaches so intense that it feels like your head could burst?

Chances are, you've encountered tension headaches or the notorious suboccipital headaches at some point in your life. These headaches frequently make their way to our clinic, and we're here to provide you with valuable insights on managing them at home.

The primary culprit behind these headaches and migraines lies in the upper joints of your neck, specifically C0-3. Strong muscles interconnecting through the neck and shoulders, when in spasm, can impede the vertebrae's movement, causing them to become 'stuck'.

Suboccipital and tension headaches can be influenced by various factors, with posture playing a pivotal role. Prolonged periods of looking down at phones, laptops, and books can irritate the muscles in the top of our necks, leading to headaches. To...

Today I'm going through some reminders of some things that you really should be doing to help decrease your headaches and migraines, particularly during lockdown. These are things that we should do on a regular basis to help decrease your headaches and migraines effectively.

Hi, I'm Dr. Beth, osteopath here at Melbourne Headache Solutions.

First thing’s first, if you've been indulging in a bit of Netflix or watching the DVD for long periods of time, then it's really easy to get into some really bad posture positions especially when you’re chilling on your couch. Lots of people like to slump down or lean their head on their hand, get into weird, and basically, this puts your neck in a really weird position, and it really encourages headaches and migraines to come into play. You might not get it there and then, but often, people get it a bit later on, or you can get an accumulation of dysfunctions in through your neck, which promotes headaches and migraines. To avoid...

Do you experience headaches through the front of your head, the sides of your head and the back of your head? Does it feel like your head is being squeezed so tight that it could burst?

Chances are most of us have experienced a tension headache or a suboccipital headache at some stage in our lives. These headaches are a very common presentation to the clinic so we’re going to give you a bit of information about them and how you can help manage them at home. 

The main causative factor for these headaches and migraines is the top joints in your neck, C0-3. There are a lot of very strong muscles that connect through the neck and shoulders that when in spasm, can interfere with the vertebrae’s movement and cause them to get ‘stuck’. 

Suboccipital and tension headaches can be influenced by a lot of things. The first, and perhaps the most important thing, is posture. When we look down for extended periods of time when looking at phones,...