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Flinders Health & Wellness
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About Headache and Migraine treatment
Headache and Migraine Support
Headaches are common, but they are not “just part of getting older” or something you have to put up with forever. They can affect your concentration, mood, sleep, work and family life, and they often come with worry: “Is this serious? Is this my neck? Is this stress? Is this migraine?”
At Flinders Health and Wellness Clinic on Cook Street, Flinders, we provide osteopathic assessment and management for many types of headaches in a careful, structured way. Our role is to help you make sense of your headache pattern, identify musculoskeletal and lifestyle contributors where appropriate, and work alongside your GP and other health professionals so you are not trying to figure it out on your own.
Headaches
Common Types
Of Headaches
Cervicogenic Headache
Headache referred from structures of the cervical spine, meaning a secondary headache disorder. Commonly associated with neck pain, restricted movement and aggravation with sustained or end-range cervical positions.
This is often felt on one side of the head and is one of the most common headaches we see.
Migraine
Migraines are a highly debilitating type of headache. They are due to a mix of factors and can have a large impact on sufferers. Migraines can have an aura (meaning a neurological symptoms before the headache) - such as visual changes, smell changes or sensory changes.
TMJ-Related Headache
Headache associated with the jaw (also known as temporomandibular joint) and masticatory muscle dysfunction. Often linked with jaw pain, clenching, bruxism and localised temporal or facial pain.
Medication
Over-use headache
A primary headache disorder characterised by recurrent moderate to severe attacks, often unilateral and pulsating, with associated nausea and/or sensitivity to light and sound.
Cluster
Headache
A severe primary headache disorder presenting as one sided pain behind the eye of in the temple. The pain can also have other features like watering eyes or sinus congestion.
Requires prompt medical management.
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BEST TO SEE GP FIRST
Headaches that need urgent medical attention​
A sudden severe headache that is extreme
A new headache after changing a medication.
Any headache where you have a temperature, vomiting, visual changes or altered consciousness.
\A new headache if you are on: the pill, have high blood pressure or after a head injury or concussion.
Headache assessment
How We Assess Headaches
Headache assessment involves a lot of questions. If booking online, please let us know if you have a headache problem you would like us to review.
We want to know about whether you also have issues such as high blood pressure, whether you have had a history of falls and other questions regarding your symptoms.
Suitable headache treatment involves careful screening - headaches can be an indicator of other issues so we are careful in our management.
If the headache has been thoroughly investigated and you are not having concerning symptoms treatment can involve manual therapy, assessment of the jaw and thoracic spine as well as your neck.
We will also look at modifiable factors to reduce severity, whether that be changing your ergonomics, strengthening the muscles of the front of the neck or giving stress management tools.
If we have any concerns, we may suggest you see your GP and if this is the case - we obviously won't charge you for your appointment. It's more important for us you are in the right place with the right professionals.
HEADACHE MANAGEMENT
When you need to see the GP
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Headaches keep coming back or are getting more frequent.
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Painkillers aren’t helping, or you need them more than a couple of days a week.
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Your usual headache or migraine pattern has changed.
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Headaches are affecting work, school, driving or sleep.
When to call nurse on call/ urgent GP
​Book an urgent GP appointment (same day or next day) or call a nurse/GP helpline if:
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Headache with repeated vomiting.
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Headache getting steadily worse over days or weeks.
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Headache brought on or worsened by coughing, sneezing, straining or heavy exertion.
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New headache with jaw pain when chewing, scalp tenderness or new vision changes (especially over 50).
When to call ambulance or go to ED
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When to call an ambulance / go to Emergency
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Sudden, extremely severe headache (“thunderclap” or “worst ever”).
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Headache with trouble speaking, weakness, drooping face or loss of vision.
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Headache with confusion, drowsiness, collapse or a seizure.
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Headache with high fever, stiff neck, rash or feeling very seriously unwell.
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Severe headache after a significant head injury.
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Severe one‑sided headache with a very painful, red eye and blurred vision.
Headache Tips + Advice
Practical Steps Before you see someone for a headache
If you experience frequent or bothersome headaches, there are some simple steps you can take before (or alongside) booking an appointment with an osteopath, GP or other practitioner. These do not replace medical assessment, but they can make your consultation more productive and sometimes highlight red flags sooner.
1. Keep a brief headache diary (7–14 days)
Write down, even in dot points:
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When the headache starts and how long it lasts
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Where you feel it (forehead, temples, back of head, behind one eye, around the neck)
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How strong it gets (for example, mild / moderate / severe)
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What you were doing beforehand (work, screens, exercise, certain foods, lack of sleep)
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What helps (rest, medication, movement, heat/ice, fresh air, neck stretches)
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Any associated symptoms (nausea, light/sound sensitivity, neck pain, visual changes, dizziness)
Bringing this information to your appointment can give your osteopath and GP a much clearer picture of your headache type and triggers.
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2. Check your basic habits
Ask yourself, over the past 1–2 weeks:
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Am I drinking enough water most days?
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Am I consistently skipping meals or relying heavily on caffeine?
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Have my sleep times or sleep quality changed?
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Has my stress level gone up (work, family, finances, health)?
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Have I suddenly changed my physical activity (much more or much less)?
These questions are not about blame; they simply help us see how sleep, stress, hydration and activity might be interacting with your headaches.
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3. Review your neck and screen set‑up
Notice:
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Do headaches tend to come on after long periods at a computer, tablet or phone?
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Is your screen roughly at eye level, or are you often looking down?
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Do you often work or study without breaks for hours at a time?
If you can, try:
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Lifting screens closer to eye level
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Taking short movement breaks (1–2 minutes) every 30–45 minutes
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Gently moving your neck through comfortable ranges once or twice an hour
Simple changes like these do not cure all headaches, but they can reduce strain on the neck and upper back and give us useful information about how posture and load affect your symptoms.
Tools for Headaches
Understanding and Managing Triggers
Headache and migraine triggers are not the same for everyone. A “trigger” is anything that seems to increase the chance of an attack, either on its own or in combination with other factors. Some triggers are modifiable; others are not. We focus on helping you recognise patterns and make changes where they’re practical and safe, rather than trying to eliminate every possible trigger.
Common trigger areas to consider:
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Sleep: Irregular sleep times, very short sleep, or sometimes oversleeping can all influence headaches for some people.
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Stress: Ongoing stress, sudden relief of stress (for example, “weekend migraine”), and major life events can all act as triggers.
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Hormones: Many women notice a link between migraine and their menstrual cycle, perimenopause or hormonal contraception. This is best managed with a GP.
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Food and hydration: Skipping meals, long gaps between eating, dehydration, and in some people certain foods or alcohol, may be relevant.
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Caffeine: Both high caffeine intake and sudden caffeine withdrawal can contribute to headaches in some individuals.
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Sensory load: Bright lights, loud noise, strong smells or busy environments may trigger or worsen migraine in susceptible people.
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Posture and load: Long periods at a desk, device use, driving, or repetitive physical tasks can act as triggers, especially for tension‑type and neck‑related headaches.
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Keep Track of Triggers and Episodes
We encourage you to use a simple headache diary to track these factors over 1–2 weeks, then review it together in session. This can make it easier to differentiate between genuine triggers and coincidences.
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Trigger management is about reducing the overall “load” on your system, not trying to live a perfect, trigger‑free life.
For example:
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Instead of “never drink coffee again”, you might aim for a consistent, moderate intake.
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Instead of “eliminate all stress”, you might focus on specific, manageable changes (better breaks at work, realistic boundaries, a brief wind‑down routine).
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Instead of rigidly avoiding every possible trigger, you and your GP/neurologist might focus on medication plans and pacing that make attacks less disruptive when they do happen.
Blog posts: Neck Pain
Blog Posts on Neck Pain
Resources for Headaches
Resources: Headaches
This page was prepared by Osteopath, Brooke Stevenson.
Brooke has been a life long migraine sufferer and has a lot of empathy for those who experience headaches. We conduct careful screening prior to any treatment and seek additional medical support when needed.