The surface anatomy around certain types of headaches can be surprising, Here we look at those headaches that loop or hook around the eyes, make you feel a vice like pressure pushing down on your head and cause pain in the base of the skull.
When these headaches strike the instinct is to rub the temples and try to treat what appears as the source of the pain. Chasing the pain is such a common mistake!
Fascinatingly this is actually a misconception and the pain we feel in our head is actually referred pain from a muscle located in the neck.
The sternocleidomastoid is the true source. There will be a trigger point (sore spot or 'knot') in the muscle meaning it can no longer contract and stretch to it's full potential. The fascia (nerve rich connective tissue) surrounding the trigger point then becomes tight and this has a knock on effect referring the pain along the nerve bundles around the head where the pain presents. It's incredible how dysfunction in one area can flare up as pain elsewhere!