Trigger points and tension-type headache: what studies found

In chronic tension-type headache, patients with active trigger points in the upper trapezius, sternocleidomastoid and temporalis reported longer, more frequent and more intense headaches than those whose points were latent.

That dose-like relationship is one of the stronger clinical arguments that these points participate in the headache rather than simply accompanying it.

Meta-analytic work on needling for neck-related trigger points and on orofacial pain in temporomandibular dysfunction both report short-term pain reduction and improved opening or range. Effects are modest and follow-up is short, as elsewhere in this literature.

Combining local treatment with jaw-habit and screen-posture change is the version most likely to hold.

For a headache that wraps forward from the neck, examine the upper trapezius, sternocleidomastoid, suboccipital group, temporalis and masseter in that order, checking each time whether pressure reproduces the patient's own headache.

Any headache with sudden onset, neurological signs, fever or a changed pattern needs medical assessment before any of this applies.