Tension-Type Headache

 Struggling With Constant Headaches or a Heavy Head Feeling?

If you often feel like there’s a tight band squeezing around your head, or experience a dull, persistent ache across your temples, forehead, or back of your head—you may be suffering from tension-type headaches (TTH). These are the most common type of headache, frequently linked to stress, poor posture, prolonged computer use, or muscle tension in the neck and shoulders.

At PACT Physio & Rehab, based in Miranda, NSW, we specialise in identifying and treating the underlying causes of tension-type headaches, especially in desk workers, students, and remote professionals experiencing repetitive strain injuries or chronic muscular overload.

What Is a Tension-Type Headache?

Tension-type headaches (TTH) are typically characterised by a dull, bilateral ache that feels like a tight band or pressure around the head. Unlike migraines, they don’t throb, pulse, or cause nausea, but they can still have a significant impact on your productivity, concentration, and mood.

These headaches are often caused by:

• Chronic muscle tension in the neck, shoulders, jaw, and upper back
• Forward head posture or slouched desk posture
• Stress, anxiety, and jaw clenching
• Sleep disruption or fatigue
• Eye strain from excessive screen time

Over time, these factors can lead to trigger point formation, sensitised nerves, and tight fascial restrictions that create a cycle of recurring headaches.

Common Symptoms of Tension-Type Headache

• Constant pressure-like pain across both sides of the head
• Pain described as a tight band, dull ache, or heaviness
• Neck stiffness and shoulder tension
• Fatigue, irritability, and trouble concentrating
• Eye strain or feeling like your eyes are tired or “burning”
• Worsens later in the day or with stress, screen time, or poor posture

Tension-type headaches are mechanical and myofascial in origin—which is why they often don’t respond to medication alone, and why physiotherapy is so effective.

Why Office Workers Are So Prone to Tension Headaches

Spending hours hunched over a desk with poor posture leads to chronic overload of the upper trapezius, SCM, suboccipitals, and cervical erector muscles. Add in stress, clenching, or lack of movement, and it’s the perfect storm for muscle tension and headaches.

These repetitive postural loads create tightness and trigger points in key areas that refer pain into the head, temples, behind the eyes, and upper neck.

How PACT Physio & Rehab in Miranda Can Help

We specialise in treating chronic tension-type headaches by relieving the muscle and joint dysfunctions that cause them—helping you reduce pain, restore function, and prevent future flare-ups.

✅ Trigger Point Dry Needling

We use dry needling to deactivate painful trigger points in the upper traps, suboccipitals, SCMs, temporalis, and surrounding muscles. This can dramatically reduce tension and improve blood flow, often with immediate relief.

✅ Manual Therapy & Soft Tissue Release

Hands-on techniques to release muscle knots, improve fascial glide, and mobilise stiff cervical joints that contribute to referred pain.

✅ Ergonomic & Postural Assessment

We evaluate your desk, chair, screen setup, and posture habits. Simple changes in ergonomics and posture retraining can reduce daily neck strain that feeds headache patterns.

✅ Relaxation & Breathing Techniques

We guide you through neck and jaw relaxation strategies, diaphragmatic breathing, and stress-reducing movements to break the cycle of muscle guarding and tension.

✅ Exercise-Based Rehab

You’ll receive a tailored program to stretch tight areas, strengthen postural muscles, and retrain normal movement patterns. Perfect for home, office, or gym use.

✅ Telehealth Appointments Available

Not in Miranda? We provide telehealth physiotherapy across Australia, including ergonomic assessments and guided headache rehab via secure video consults.



We Help People With:

• Chronic daily tension headaches
• Headaches caused by posture, stress, or screen time
• Remote workers and students
• Workers’ compensation or CTP injuries
• Jaw tension and TMJ-related headaches
• Stress-related muscular pain
• Private clients seeking relief without relying on medication

📍 In-Person Care Across the Sutherland Shire

We treat clients from Miranda, Caringbah, Gymea, Sylvania, Kirrawee, Cronulla, Menai, and across the Sutherland Shire. Our Miranda clinic is known for personalised, evidence-based care—especially for complex headache and neck pain conditions.

💻 Telehealth Physiotherapy Available Australia-Wide

Whether you're in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart, Canberra, Darwin, or a regional centre, we can support you via secure, remote telehealth physiotherapy.

We frequently work with clients from:

• Western Sydney, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Geelong, Newcastle, Wollongong, and beyond
• State and federal Workers’ Compensation, CTP, and Comcare
• Private patients with chronic headache or neck pain

Stop Letting Tension Headaches Control Your Life

At PACT Physio & Rehab, we take tension headaches seriously. Whether your pain stems from a stressful work environment, poor posture, or underlying neck dysfunction, we’ll work with you to break the cycle and restore your quality of life.

Book Your Appointment Today

Don’t let suboccipital pain take over your day. Book an appointment with Andrew Ellis, physiotherapist and dry needling expert, and start your path to recovery.

👉Book Your Appointment | PACT Physio & Rehab
📞 (02) 8330 6776

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