Migraines can affect almost every aspect of your life, even hindering your performance at work or stopping you from spending time with your family or friends in the worst cases. Whilst medication is a common way to treat and prevent migraine headaches, the research suggests that massage therapy can be helpful for many people. Read on to find out more.
How does massage for migraines work?
Studies have linked massage to migraine relief for decades. There’s also a good amount of high-quality research that shows that massage therapy can help to relieve common migraine triggers, including stress and sleep issues. Indian head massage is particularly useful for treating migraines. This type of massage focuses on the head and neck, encouraging the circulation of cerebral fluid and reducing headache-causing blockages.
What is an Indian head massage?
An Indian head massage is intended to release the stress that’s built up in the tissues and muscles of the head, face, shoulders and neck. The therapist may use a range of different movements including deep kneading and compression movements. They may also gently stimulate and stroke the pressure points on the face. As well as treating and preventing migraines, Indian head massage can assist with stress, tension and fatigue, and insomnia, all of which are common triggers of migraines. Along with Indian head massage, other types of massage have been shown to be effective at treating migraines. These include deep tissue massage, trigger point massage and reflexology.
Massage or medicine for migraines?
Whilst massage therapy may be just as useful as medicine for preventing migraines, you shouldn’t throw it away just yet. In many cases, massage is used together with medication to reduce symptoms effectively. Other types of manual therapy can be used to treat migraines too, including physiotherapy and chiropractic spinal manipulation. Evidence suggests that all three manual therapies work as equally well as the most common medicines for migraine prevention.
When should I get a massage for a migraine?
A regular massage therapy program can help to reduce the severity of migraines, even preventing them entirely in some cases. However, if you don’t have the time or funds for this, it makes sense to get a massage at the first sign of a migraine, or even during one. If you get a massage early enough, it may be possible you may be able to prevent a full-blown migraine attack. If your head’s already throbbing, massage therapy may put a stop to the pain. You don’t need to simply put up with migraines and the impact they have on your life. Massage can be a highly effective way to stop them in their tracks.
Contact us today to book
Whether you get migraines regular or once in a while, finding relief should be a top priority. For an effective Indian head massage in Chelmsford, look no further than Faye Pattison Physiotherapy. Call us on 01245 901170 to book a massage with one of our experienced therapists. Alternatively, you can request a callback via our website.
