Do you find that tight muscles around your shoulders and neck are causing you headaches? Perhaps it’s at the end of a workday in front of the computer, or after a rough night of sleep. Instead of popping pills to make these headaches go away, why don’t you treat the problem at its source? Acupuncture is an amazingly effective way to release muscle tension. Inserting a handful of hair-thin needles into tight muscles helps to bring the body’s attention to the area to relax and let go of chronic tension. Sometimes trigger points are also used – these are spots on the body that are stimulated to directly release a muscle in spasm. In addition to acupuncture needles, I use manual massage, gua sha, and cupping in my practice. Massage can be used to release tension in the neck and shoulders before the needles are placed. Gua sha is the use of a small blunt tool that is rubbed along the tight muscle fibers to help release muscle adhesions. Cupping is essentially a reverse massage – it is the use of suction cups to pull apart tight muscle fibers and allow improved circulation. All of these techniques can be used together, if appropriate, to release chronic muscle pain and tightness in the neck, shoulder, and back of the head. If your headaches are due to tight muscles you are likely to feel either partial or complete relief after the treatment, although sometimes multiple treatments are needed to ensure that the problem resolves. During the treatment we will also discuss lifestyle stressors and ergonomics to determine whether the cause of the persistent muscle tension can be eliminated. If needed, I can refer to therapists, health coaches, and ergonomists to help resolve any outstanding concerns. If you suffer from tension headaches and you’re ready to feel better, give me a call to book your session soon!