Using The Power Of Massage For Headache
Many people suffer regular and intensive
pain from headaches but once the cause can be determined there maybe a solution
to counteract the paralysing effect that they have on life. Reaching for the
medicine cabinet maybe alright for those with the occasional trouble, but those
with regular and intensive headaches, the causes and natural cures should be
examined.
In general, it is difficult to pinpoint the
precise cause of an infrequently occurring muscle tension or vascular headache,
but sometimes the anatomy of the headache—how it starts, where the pain is
felt, and how long it lasts—provides valuable clues about its source.
It was once believed that there were only
two simple origins of headaches. Vascular, such as migraines, occurred when
blood vessels that supplied the brain and muscles of the head and neck dilated
or were constricted. Tension headaches were thought to result from the tensing
and contracting of muscles of the head, face, and neck in response to physical
stress, such as injury or emotional distress.
However, it is now understood that there
are complex chemical changes in the brain associated with pain. Tension
headaches are associated with neurochemicals in the brain —varying levels of
serotonin, endorphins and other chemicals that serve as neurotransmitters
(substances that nerves use to send messages to one another) helping nerves to
communicate.
These chemical changes observed in headache
sufferers may cause, or be caused by, muscle tension. It is possible that
tensed muscles in the neck and scalp may trigger a headache in someone with
altered neurochemical levels or, on the other hand, the neck and scalp muscles
may be tensing in response to these neurochemical changes. The rise and fall of
these chemicals are thought to not only activate pain pathways to the brain but
also interfere with the brain's own capacity to suppress the pain. Massage
therapy can effectively ease the muscle tension that causes headaches.
As headaches often result from or involve
pain referred from problems associated with the bones and muscles in the neck,
shoulder, and back, massage focusing on the cervical spine (the vertebrae in
the neck behind the skull) can help to relieve headache pain. Shiatsu massage,
a Japanese technique in which pressure is applied with the fingers, thumbs and
palm to acupuncture points, also may help to reduce headache pain. Another
therapeutic touch technique that seems to help sufferers is known as the Trager
Approach. It uses massage to stretch muscles and joints and promote relaxation.
Some tension headaches may be relieved by a specific
form of massage therapy called trigger point therapy (TrP). Trigger point
therapy is the application of pressure to specific points such as along the
trapezius muscles (the muscles extending from the base of the skull to mid-back
located along the spine) and sternocleidomastoid muscles (muscles on either
side of the neck). This pressure interrupts the nerve signals that not only
cause the headache pain but also create the trigger point. This massage therapy
aims to relieve pain and to re-educate the muscles so they
assume healthy positions and postures that do not generate pain.
The beneficial effect of the manipulation of the body’s muscles through massage is a
recognised method of treating the causes of headaches through natural methods.
Whether a full soothing body massage or therapy concentrating on the back and
neck, facial or head, the techniques used can reduce stress levels and improve
blood circulation leaving the person feeling relaxed and refreshed.
In order to ensure full benefit of this therapy, it is important to
understand and practice the movement of the hands. It is now time to
familiarise yourself with the different therapies that massage offers
and adopt them into your regime and be able to offer a relieving massage for headache
by clicking on massage for headache. The Healing Powers Of An Indian Head Massage dvd is exactly what you are looking for to start releasing the power in your hands.
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