Tension headaches can cause a lot of pain. Stress is a common cause of tension headaches. Relaxing the muscles around the neck and shoulder area can help decrease the pain. Buy a worksheet with these tension headache relief stretches & exercises at: https://www.askdoctorjo.com/purchase-the-6-tension-headache-relief-stretches-exercises-worksheet/

Isometric exercises can be a great way to relieve tension headaches. Squeezing or contracting the muscles, and then relaxing without movement can help reduce pain and tightness. Isometric cervical sidebends and rotations are a great way to relax the muscles in the neck and shoulders.

Next, chin tucks not only help loosen up the muscles in the neck area, but they also help reset the muscles that are often overstretched from bad posture.

Then some full stretches for the neck and shoulder area, like the upper trap stretch and levator scapulae stretch, will help lengthen the muscles to reduce the tightness causing tension.

Finally, shoulder or scapular squeezes not only help relieve tension, but they also help strengthen the muscles to improve posture that might be causing the pain.

Related Dr. Jo Videos:

Tension Headache Relief with Simple Stretches
https://youtu.be/nWNf6Khc9go

Neck Pain Exercises & Stretches:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NOsE-VPpkE

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Doctor Jo is a Physical Therapist and Doctor of Physical Therapy.

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Tension Headache Relief
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2SaICh0woc
https://www.askdoctorjo.com/video/tension-headache-relief/

00:00 – Tension Headache Relief
00:48 – Isometric Cervical Sidebend
02:40 – Isometric Cervical Rotation
03:46 – Chin Tuck
05:45 – Upper Trap Stretch
07:03 – Levator Scapulae Stretch
08:52 – Shoulder Squeezes/Scapular Squeezes

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This video has been dubbed using an artificial voice via https://aloud.area120.google.com to increase accessibility. You can change the audio track language in the Settings menu.

All subtitles, dubs & translations are computer-generated, so they may not be 100% accurate, but we hope they will give more people the opportunity to enjoy our content.

DISCLAIMER: This content (the video, description, links, and comments) is for informational purposes only. It is general in nature and is not intended to be medical advice, nor does using it create a physical therapist-patient relationship with you. Before starting, consult your own healthcare provider for a proper diagnosis and to ensure this content and any included products are safe and appropriate for your own medical and physical condition. Stop immediately if you experience pain. Ask Doctor Jo, LLC makes no representations about the accuracy or suitability of this content for you. By voluntarily using this content, you assume all risks for any resulting losses, injuries, or damages.