Migraines and Massage Therapy

Nausea, vomiting and/or pain in the eyes (especially in a room with light) may also be symptoms of this type of headache.

This article was written by Kelly Lott , LMT, MTI, NCBTMB, CIMI, who teaches massage therapists how to offer treatment for the pain using cold stone therapy massage.

Over 50 million people worldwide suffer debilitating pain from headaches, are you one of them?

What is a Migraine Headache and why is it different from a common headache?

"Migraine" comes from the ancient Greek word “hemicranos”, which means “half-head” or felt on one side of the head.

The actual cause is not known; however, what can trigger it is thought to be an inappropriate activation of a pain warning system in the brain. The warning system deviates from its normal pattern remaining “on” and continually cycling. The blood vessels in the brain expand in a process called vasodilatation.

As the tissues surrounding the brain swell, the pain intensifies. Common causes are stress, caffeine, hormonal changes, food allergies and environmental agitation.

Women are most affected, 3 to 1 versus men, usually with the onset of menses. Intense headaches rob sufferers of their quality of life, causing disruption within their family life and work environments.

How can a massage therapist help headache sufferers?

Prior to Cold Stone Therapy, a massage therapist hoping to help their client might concentrate on neck massage, intending to provide relief. Unfortunately, this could actually intensify the pain of the headache since massaging the neck would encourage additional blood flow to already swollen blood vessels.

Three years ago, I created and developed the Cold Stone Therapy treatment that quickly and dramatically reduces the pressure and pain as well as provides relief for a variety of headaches.

This treatment is approximately a 30-minute session that consists of headache point releases, combined with the use of specific essential oils (aromatherapy).

In addition, this therapy includes the use of specially designed and crafted marble stones, cooled and placed at strategic areas to immediately reduce the inflammation of specific blood vessels.

Kelly Lott, LMT, MTI, NCBTMB, CIMI has been training massage therapists throughout the country for 15 years in pregnancy and post-partum massage, face toning, spa treatments, as well as cold stone therapy for migraine headache. For further information on her seminars, instructional massage videos and products, visit: www.kellylott.com.

I found this website called MigraineSavvy.com to be very useful in understanding this type of headache, so if you would like more specific information on migraine relief alternatives and some amazing tips about how to cope with this horrible condition feel free to click on the above link.

Unfortunately, the side-effects of certain drugs can be as scary as the problems they treat. Many people are looking for drug-free solutions, and massage for headaches, as well as nutritional changes seem to offer positive results.

Reducing salt intake and avoiding acid forming foods (meat, dairy, cereals, grain, fried foods and bread) can make a huge difference. Avoiding sugar has also proven beneficial to headache sufferers.

CoQ10, Rosemary essential oil, and ginger tea can be effective headache reducers. Exercise, massage and deep breathing will also improve blood circulation and calm the pain. These are some of the best natural migraine pain help solutions.

Massage helps by working certain pressure points of referred pain, called trigger points. Trigger points, located at the suboccipital muscles at the base of the skull, can be the cause of some tension head pain. Sinusitis, TMJ, muscle spasms and nerve entrapment can also contribute to the pain.

This book, Illustrated Acupuncture and Tuina provides easy to understand pictures and descriptions of how to work trigger points to get relief from pain and other symptoms.