I get headaches that start at the base of my skull and creep up the back of my head. For years I reached for pills first. Then a physical therapist showed me a one-minute move that stops most of them before they take hold.

Why your neck causes headaches

Hours hunched over a desk or phone tighten the muscles at the top of your neck. Those tight spots, called trigger points, refer pain up into your head. That is a tension headache, and it is usually muscular.

The release move

1. Sit up straight and drop your chin slightly.
2. Find the two bony bumps where your skull meets your neck.
3. Press into the soft spot just below them with your thumbs or two fingertips.
4. Hold steady pressure for thirty to sixty seconds while breathing slowly.

The pressure helps the muscle let go, and the headache often fades within a few minutes. It is not a cure-all, but it works for the common desk-jockey headache.

What made it stick

I also raised my monitor so I am not craning my neck down all day. Posture is the real fix, and the release move is the rescue when I forget.

If a headache is sudden and severe, see a doctor. But for the everyday tension kind, this beats another pill.