"Can Eyeball Exercise and Cervical Stabilisation Programs Improve Quality of Life for Patients with Chronic Neck Pain and Headaches?"
- Julian Simpson
- Aug 11, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 19, 2025
"Can Eyeball Exercise and Cervical Stabilisation Programs Improve Quality of Life for Patients with Chronic Neck Pain and Headaches?"
Tension-type headaches are common, with at least 1 in 3 people having one at least once in their lifetime.
The causes of tension headaches are:
excessive muscle activity due to stress,
nerve root compression due to structural anomaly of the cervical vertebra(e),
muscle imbalance due to improper posture.
Additionally, TTH may be further aggravated by excessively increased activity of the neck, head, and periocular muscles, causing a sensation of pressure in the head and periocular muscles and persistent pain accompanied by neck discomfort
The control of muscles in the cervical vertebral area requires integrated movements of the key sensory organs of visual, auditory, and balance functions and the stability of head and neck movements
Muscle PAIN in the neck is caused by the 2nd cervical nerves of the trigeminocervical complex.
Therefore, a method to reduce tension headaches is to reduce the tonicity of the orbicularis oculi through eyeball movement in addition to reducing muscle tone in the cervical region via manual therapy, which has gained increasing attention
Forward head posture (FHP), a muscle abnormality caused by poor posture and physical loading due to changes in cervical curvature, can result from abnormal control of muscles in the cervical region. A good indicator of whether you have a forward head posture is when the craniovertebral angle is under 53 degrees.
Forward head posture can cause tension headaches with the pain caused by tight muscles in the suboccipital, upper trapezius and longus colli muscles.
Muscle fatigue results from excessive tension-type in the neck and shoulder muscles caused by improper posture such as FHP
Let's talk about exercises for our tension headaches and neck pain:
The goal of the pressure biofeedback-guided cervical stabilization exercise is to improve the stability of the longus colli muscle through strengthening.
It involves a chin-in exercise, whereby the chin is pulled downwards while the head is prevented from bending, such that the device is compressed during the exercise.
The final target was set at 10 mm above the baseline (20 mm), and at the target level, the patient was instructed to hold for 10 s. The holding time of 10 s was repeated 10 times, with 10 s resting time between each contraction. A break of 15 seconds was provided between each set.
The exercise program consisted of 3 sets, repeated twice, at approximately 20 min/session, 3 sessions per week, for 6 weeks in total
Eyeball Exercise
In the eyeball exercise, the movements were performed to the maximum end range in the respective direction, with a holding time of 10 s, repeated 4 times. The resting time between each movement was 10 seconds. A break of 20 s was provided between each set, and the program consisted of 2 sets, performed at approximately 20 min/session, 3 sessions per week, for 6 weeks in total.
When researchers combined eye exercises with chiropractic adjustments and the stabilisation exercise, they found that the muscles around the eye and neck relaxed and the nerve compression decreased
This leads to less tension headaches and less neck pain.
Neck Pain Chiropractor
Q: What causes neck pain that chiropractors treat?Common causes include poor posture, desk work, whiplash, and muscle tension.
Q: How does chiropractic care relieve neck pain?Through gentle spinal adjustments, soft tissue therapy, and posture correction.
Q: Is it safe to adjust the neck?Yes, when performed by a qualified chiropractor, neck adjustments are safe and effective.
Q: Can chiropractic help with tech neck?Absolutely — chiropractic care can ease strain from long hours at computers or devices.
For more information about how we can help. Please call Health Wise Chiropractic 03 9467 7889 or book online to see one of our Chiropractors in Sunbury or Melton/Strathtulloh Today!
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Reference
Park SH, Oh YJ, Lee MM. Improving Function and Quality of Life in Patients with Chronic Neck Pain, Tension-Type Headache, and Forward Head Posture: The Role of Eyeball Exercise and Cervical Stabilization Programs. Med Sci Monit. 2024 Jun 18;30:e944315. doi: 10.12659/MSM.944315. PMID: 38889104; PMCID: PMC11193382.
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