Natural Relief from Headaches, Even Migraines

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

This sort of detective work is useful, but confounded by the fact that a number of factors can conspire to pull the pin out of the headache grenade. It might take stress, insufficient sleep, a skipped meal, a glass of red wine and an impending menstrual period to set off the explosion. But once you track down what’s causing your headaches, you’ll be able to take preventive actions. See Understanding & Beating Headaches for a quick guide.

Stress Management

Stress and anxiety play a major role in tension and migraine headaches. Anxiety and overreactions to stress in childhood have been linked to migraines in adulthood. Think about it — when you feel overworked and worried, where do you feel this tension? In your neck, shoulders, face and scalp.

Studies show that lightening your stress load relieves headaches. For instance, a 2001 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed stress management therapy was as effective as medication in people with chronic tension headaches.

Several methods can favorably change the way we cope with stress — both physically and mentally. Yoga, meditation and aerobic exercise all diffuse stress and help relax muscles — plus meditation can help people manage pain. Cognitive behavioral therapy, a form of psychotherapy, can eradicate self-sabotaging thoughts and behaviors that amplify stress. Progressive muscle relaxation teaches you to first deliberately tense muscle groups, then appreciate the feeling as you let them unclench. Massage, with or without calming herbal essential oils, is another stress buster and improves blood flow to afflicted areas. If you don’t have the budget and time for frequent massages, you might ask your therapist to teach you how to work on your trigger points.

How do you stop storing stress in your head and neck muscles? The first step is becoming aware of muscle tension. One means to this end is electromyographic (EMG) biofeedback. Electrodes or other sensors measure muscle tension, then auditory or visual cues give you feedback about the degree of tension. In this way, you can learn to recognize and release tight muscles before they cause pain. Portable, hand-held biofeedback devices make it possible to use this stress-relieving technique anywhere.

Biofeedback works, and children and teens can be particularly good at it. When 35 adolescents engaged in six sessions of EMG biofeedback, they enjoyed an 86 percent reduction in tension headaches. Alexander Mauskop, M.D., director of the New York Headache Center and a noted researcher, also finds biofeedback a boon to pregnant women, who can’t take painkillers.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print