Myofitness now offers the Watson Headache® Approach across our Melbourne locations, delivered by physiotherapist.
The Watson Headache® Approach is a hands-on physiotherapy technique developed by Australian physiotherapist Dr Dean Watson. It focuses on identifying and treating dysfunction in the upper cervical spine and its contribution to headache and migraine disorders. Rather than targeting stiffness alone, it works with the neurological sensitivity characteristic of migraine and headache conditions. It does not involve manipulation, cracking, or high-velocity techniques. The approach is now taught and practiced in over 25 countries.
It is the only manual therapy approach that has been scientifically validated to address the underlying problem affecting migraine and headache sufferers — a sensitised brainstem.
The sub-occipital muscles at the base of the skull are the most neurologically sensitive muscles in the human body, with up to 250 muscle spindles per gram of tissue — far exceeding muscles elsewhere in the body. These muscles feed nerve signals directly into brain areas involved in dizziness, nausea, visual disturbances, sleep, and anxiety, and place direct stress on the joints at the top of the neck.
The upper cervical spinal nerves (C1, C2, C3) converge with the trigeminal nerve in an area of the brainstem called the trigemino-cervical complex (TCC). In people with migraine and headache disorders, the TCC is persistently sensitised — essentially a powder keg awaiting a trigger. Neck dysfunction, long considered merely a symptom of migraine, can in fact be a cause.
Research from Dr Watson’s PhD demonstrated that skilled application of the approach could reproduce familiar head pain in 95% of migraineurs and 100% of tension-type headache sufferers during assessment, and measurably reduce brainstem sensitivity — reducing or eliminating that underlying sensitisation. Independent research has since supported this. A 2017 study identified migraine sufferers with 88% accuracy using examination techniques drawn from the approach, and a 2018 study found 93% of migraine sufferers tested positive on related assessment criteria.
The approach is appropriate for people with a range of headache and migraine disorders, including those who have tried other manual therapies without success. Standard manual therapy techniques can be ineffective or too forceful for the level of brainstem sensitivity seen in these conditions — the Watson Headache® Approach is specifically designed with that sensitivity in mind.
Myofitness physiotherapist trained in the Watson Headache® Approach. Our Practitioner brings this specialised assessment and treatment method to patients across our Melbourne locations.
To book with or find your nearest Myofitness location, contact us today.
