A temple headache
is a common tension headache. The
primary cause is the trigger point in the upper trapezius (truh-PEE-zee-us). The trapezius
is a broad, flat muscle in your upper back.
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| trapezius |
The uppermost part of the trapezius helps support your head
and neck. If your posture is
head-forward or round-shouldered, the muscles try to counteract the pull on the
shoulders, which causes trigger points.
The trigger point is located where your neck meets the
shoulder as indicated with the blue circle in the image above. Pinch the most superficial fiber of the
muscle under the skin. You may
feel a few rolls of the fiber like wires.
Squeeze it firmly until you feel pain in the temple. This trigger point is also the cause of
the pain down the side of the neck
behind the ear, and dizziness, and
the indirect cause of jaw pain and toothache.
As you first want to massage your temple, the temporalis (tem-por-AL-iss) trigger points do cause headaches in the front and sides of the head. This muscle covers the temple above and in front of the ear.
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| temporalis |
These trigger points also cause pain and hypersensitivity in the upper teeth.
Again, don’t forget to massage the sternocleidomastoid (SCM). The trigger points in this muscle almost solve any problems
you have in the face and head.
Temple Headache (2) will talk about headaches typical to migraines.
Temple Headache (2) will talk about headaches typical to migraines.