Understanding Headaches and How Massage Can Help

Headaches are all too common in the United States. Recent statistics show that over 15% of all U.S. adults complain about them, with women more likely to experience them than men at twice the rate. A 2017 survey from Statista found that 18 % of respondents suffered headaches multiple times a month. [1]

 

Generally, there are three common types of headaches:

 

Tension headache: Tension-type headache is the most common type of headache. It causes mild to moderate pain, but the pain is almost always present and comes and goes over a lengthy period.

 

Tension headache symptoms include:[2]

 

·         Dull, aching head pain

·         Feeling of tightness or pressure across the forehead or across the sides and back of the head

·         Tenderness in the scalp, neck and shoulder muscles

 

Cluster headache: A cluster headache is pain on one side of the head, lasting anywhere from 15 minutes up to three hours. Cluster headache symptoms can include burning, piercing, or throbbing or the pain can be constant. Pain from a cluster headache can occur daily for weeks to months, often presenting itself at the same time each day up to eight times a day. It also can occur at the same time during the night. [3]

 

Migraine: A migraine is much more than an excruciating headache. It is a brain disorder often disabling. Migraine headache symptoms include vertigo, nausea, and cognitive dysfunction. Sometimes there are no migraine headache symptoms at all. You can characterize migraines by frequency and by appearance.[4]

 

About frequency, there is episodic migraine, which is less than 15 days a month, and chronic. When it comes to appearance, one type has an aura (classic migraine); the other does not. An aura is a sensory disturbance occurring before the migraine, including flashes of light, blind spots, and other vision changes or tingling in your hand or face.

 

 

Common headache triggers

 

 Among the top headache triggers are:

 

Stress: Stress can cause tight muscles in the shoulders and neck, which often leads to a tension headache. It starts in the neck and back and works its way up, feeling like a tight band around your head but also can appear as head pressure or a dull ache.

 

Diet: Certain foods may trigger migraines, such as chocolate and dairy products. You also may experience a hunger headache, which some researchers believe is caused by falling blood sugar levels. This type of headache also is called a fasting headache, characterized by constant pain on both sides of the head. [5]

 

Alcohol: Headache triggers for certain people is alcohol, or it may be additives in the alcohol. Dehydration from drinking alcohol also may result in headaches. Drinking alcohol causes the kidneys to expel more fluid, leading to excessive urination and dehydration.[6]  

 

Caffeine withdrawal: Small doses of caffeine may provide mild relief of head pain. However, regularly consuming quantities of caffeine may increase the risk for withdrawal symptoms if quitting “cold turkey.” The withdrawal can itself be a migraine trigger. This may be because caffeine causes blood vessels to constrict; without caffeine, the blood vessels widen and bulge out with each heartbeat — a chief reason for the pounding pain of migraines.[7]

 

Environment: In some people, migraine headache triggers may include changes in weather, extreme heat or cold; strong smells; bright lights; or smoke. These are also called environmental triggers. However, doctors have found little proof why such environmental factors trigger migraine headaches. Possibly people who react to light, sound, and smells may have brain changes that make them more sensitive to these triggers.[8]

 

Lack of sleep: Studies have linked lack of sleep to migraines and tension headaches. Researchers in a 2011 study found lack of REM sleep increases the creation of proteins in the body that cause chronic pain. These proteins can spark intense migraine headaches. A 2018 scientific review linked lack of sleep to tension headaches. [9]

 

Hormones:  Changes in estrogen levels are associated with migraines in women, who suffer from migraines more often than men.[10]

 

Conventional headache treatment

 

Tension headaches: Treatment for most occasional tension-type headaches include over-the-counter medications such as:  [11]

• Aspirin
• Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others)
• Acetaminophen (Tylenol, others)
• Daily prescription medications

 

Migraine headaches: The key to preventing migraine headaches is to avoid triggers and learn how to help prevent migraines or lessen the pain. Migraine headache treatment might include:[12]

• Rest in a quiet, dark room
• Hot or cold compresses to the head or neck
• Massage and tiny amounts of caffeine
• Over-the-counter medications such as Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others), acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) and aspirin
• Prescription and preventative medications

 

Cluster headaches: Cluster headache treatments may include medications to prevent headaches and to manage pain when an attack occurs. Common prevention medications include those that treat allergies, depression, blood pressure and seizures. Other medications may help manage pain like triptan medicines (sumatriptan), anti-inflammatory medicines or dihydroergotamine injections (can’t be taken with sumatriptan). Breathing in 100% oxygen may help relieve symptoms during an attack.[13]

 

Role of massage for headaches

 

While medication is the most conventional way to treat headache symptoms, some research suggests massage therapy may provide relief. Because the research data is limited, massage for headache is not part of the official treatment recommendation from the American Headache Society. However, research shows massage therapy is beneficial in relieving common headache triggers, such as anxiety, stress and sleep issues.[14]

 

 

Research studies on massages for headaches

 

Massage therapy for migraine headaches

 

Small studies have linked massage therapy massage to migraine relief for decades. In addition, there is significant research supporting massage to help relieve common migraine triggers, including stress and sleep problems. Among the studies:[15]

 

A U.S. study of people with migraines separated 26 participants into two groups. The control group had no intervention, while a massage group got two massages a week for 5 weeks. Results indicated the massage group did better:

·         Much less migraine pain

• More headache-free days
• Fewer sleep problems
• Higher levels of serotonin, the feel-good hormone

 

Another 13-week New Zealand study of nearly 50 people also divided participants into a control and a massage group. The massage group also received weekly massages during weeks 5-10.

Compared with the control group, the massage group reported:

• Less frequent migraines
• Decreases in anxiety, heart rate, and stress hormone cortisol
• Better stress management and coping skills
• Greatly improved sleep quality

 

Massage therapy for recurrent tension-type headache

 

A study conducted in 2015 included 56 patients with tension-type headache pain who received 12 trigger point release massage or placebo (detuned ultrasound) sessions over 6 weeks or were in a wait-list group. Participants recorded headache pain, including frequency, intensity, and duration, in daily headache diary.

 

From diary recordings, group differences across time were noted in headache frequency but not for intensity or duration. Statistical analysis indicated that headache frequency decreased from baseline for both massage and placebo, but no difference was detected between massage and placebo. Patient reports of perceived clinical change showed greater reduction in headache pain for massage than placebo or wait-list groups. Pressure-pain threshold improved in all muscles tested for massage only. [16]

 

 

How massage for headaches helps

 

The benefits of massages for headaches include:[17]

 

·         Relax muscles: By releasing tension in the head, neck, and shoulder muscles, massage therapy can help reduce the intensity and frequency of tension headache attacks.

·         Improve circulation: By increasing blood flow, massage promotes oxygen and nutrient delivery to the brain. This helps alleviate symptoms of migraine headaches.

·         Reduce stress: Stress is a contributing factor for both tension and migraine headache attacks. By promoting relaxation and reducing stress, massage therapy can help in providing relief.

 

Clients experiencing chronic headaches want to consult with their medical professionals. However, massage can mitigate some of the triggers that bring headaches and so help in relieving some of the symptoms.