Breathing Matters > Tension Type Headaches:

Tension type headache has a muscular component. Emotional stress, anxiety and depression are also thought to have causal relationships with tension type headache. Patients with jaw joint muscle pain hyperventilate. Probably the most important change in stress or tension is that the accessory muscles of respiration are brought into play and muscles. These muscles designed for use in an emergency only, start to be used on a chronic basis. Muscle overuse leads to postural changes and muscle pain. The referred pain distribution of trigger points in these muscles corresponds to many of the referred pain areas associated with tension headache. Migraine patients also have tender neck and shoulder muscles, with tender knots and bands in these muscles. Hyperventilation patients overuse these muscles. Poor breathing patterns and overuse of the accessory respiratory muscles associated with hyperventilation link tension type headache and migraine.