Why does my head feel so heavy?

When people come into my office with neck pain, headaches, or migraines, one thing that I often hear them say is that their head feels very heavy. They often describe it as their head feels like it’s too heavy to hold up, or like their neck muscles are working really hard just to hold up their head. They complain of a lot of stress and tension in their neck and top of their shoulders. I almost always hear people say, “this is where I hold my stress”. This is not completely false and I am going to explain why.

Your skull balances on top of your neck in a very specific way. There is a small bone at the top of your neck called the atlas and that is what supports your skull. Then there are a bunch of muscles that attach to your skull and the bones in your neck to hold everything together and keep it stable. Unfortunately, a lot of us have misalignment in our neck which leads to the structure being unstable. When the structure is unstable, it requires the muscles to work very hard just to keep things straight. 

Imagine your childhood game of Jenga: the taller the tower gets, the more unstable it becomes. That is because the structures (the Jenga pieces) are not in perfect alignment. This creates an unstable structure that is wobbly as you continue to put more weight and structures at the top. Your skull weighs about the weight of a bowling ball, and your neck is very skinny in comparison. So it takes a lot of work for your skull to stay balanced on top of your neck, especially if the bones are out of alignment.

The way that we are able to help you in this office is by getting your neck into proper alignment. We take a few x-rays of the top of your neck to understand how your skull is balancing on top of your neck, and then we take very specific steps to get everything back into proper alignment. This may sound complicated but it is actually very simple and very gentle. You barely feel anything at all.

When your neck is in better alignment, your muscles have a lot less work to do. Some muscles that have been overworked for so long can finally relax and let go, because the structure is more stable. When you stay in alignment for periods of time, your muscles really get comfortable relaxing and your neck stays stable. This results in your head not feeling so heavy, and dramatically less neck pain! This can also play a huge role in getting your relief from headaches or migraines because these things are often caused by tight muscles. 

If you feel like your head feels really heavy, or if you suffer from neck pain or tension in your neck and shoulders, we can help you. The procedure we offer is very safe, gentle and effective and helps people find relief from neck pain, headaches, and migraines in a natural way. Please give us a call today to see if this procedure is right for you. We offer complimentary consultations with no commitments or fees. 303-425-4444.