9 Benefits of Massage Therapy for Tension Headaches
The treatment of headaches is based on the causes and massage is one of the solutions to treat headaches. Before you find out more about the benefits of massage therapy for tension headaches, finding out more about symptoms, causes, and types of headaches may help you understand more about this condition.
Symptoms, Causes, and Types of Headaches
Generally, headaches are just conditions when people feel an uncomfortable throbbing pain in their head or neck area. However, do you really know what the main cause of headaches is? Based on the causes there are two types of headaches:
Primary Headache Primary headache is not dangerous because it occurs not caused by other health or structural
problems. Tension and migraine headaches are two examples of primary headaches. The causes of primary headaches are such as insomnia, stress, work pressure, dehydration, and other things related to daily problems. Once you could deal with the problem, the pain will be eased up naturally.
Secondary Headache Unlike primary headaches, secondary headaches may occur caused by underlying diseases. In other words, the headache may be a symptom of certain dangerous health conditions such as head injuries, infections, brain bleeds, and even tumors. As mentioned above, a tension headache is included in primary headache and one of the ways you could do to deal with this condition is massage therapy. Most people may depend on the use of painkillers for their chronic headaches but if you know the benefits of massage for chronic tension headaches you don’t need painkillers anymore.
Benefits of Massage for Tension Headaches
One of the benefits of a full body massage is to release muscle tension and pain commonly applied through fingers and hands, though there are some techniques that are using elbows and feet. In the matter of dealing with tension headaches, studies have found that an amazing benefit of massage therapy is to help relieve the throbbing pain caused by headaches.
Help Maintaining the Level of Relaxation
Massage therapy is an effective solution for maintaining relaxation. Tensed muscles may lead to headaches. That’s why getting a massage regularly may help maintain the level of relaxation in your body and as the result could prevent tension headaches and migraine attacks. So, instead of taking painkillers it’s better to spend some time getting a massage. Further studies also stated massage therapy reduces the symptoms of depression.
Could Acts as Stress Relief
There are a lot of factors that could cause stress. Workload pressure, personal matters, and an unsupportive environment are just some examples of conditions that cause stress. However, stress is not only in your head but could manifest in your body as well. When your body and mind can no longer deal with the stressful situation a condition like a headache may occur. Massage therapy will help release the tension and at the same time heal the headache and relieve the stress.
Solution to Tensed Muscles
Most people may not know that headaches could be caused by tensed muscles or muscle spasms as well. When your
muscles are tensed, your body will suffer stressful conditions without you realizing it. However, when your body is under pressure, a headache is likely to occur. So, instead of taking painkillers to treat the headache we recommend for you to get a massage to release the tension in the muscles. When your muscles are relaxed, your headache will go away naturally.
Promotes Better Sleep Patterns
Stress and tension are two of the top causes of insomnia. Insomnia is one of the conditions that could lead to headaches. There are a lot of health benefits of deep sleep but when you lose the chance to have a good night’s sleep, your mood will be in danger. Massage is one of the best solutions to promote better sleep patterns. So, if you have an insomnia problem, it is probably the main reason why you have frequent headaches. Instead of taking painkillers as short-term solutions, massage is a safer, healthier long-term solution.
Increases Serotonin Level
Some studies have stated that massage could help stimulate the production of certain hormones and one of them is serotonin. Serotonin is responsible in regulating your mood, appetite, and sleep pattern. When serotonin in your body is at a low level, stress is the first symptom that you will face before a tension headache begins.
Help in Regulating Mood
As mentioned above, one of the natural ways to regulate your mood is by making sure the serotonin level in your body is at a safe level.
Massage is one of the solutions to help maintain the serotonin level to help regulate your mood always in check. The use of aromatherapy could optimize the process because one of the health benefits of lavender oil is to improve mood.
Improves Appetite
There are a lot of factors that could cause someone to lose appetite. Appetite loss is mostly temporary but if it is becoming a frequent problem, perhaps you should find the solution right away. When you lose your appetite, your body will lose some essential nutrients for metabolism. Unhealthy metabolism could lead to certain conditions like headaches which is an indication when your body is suffering from certain nutrient deficiencies.
Optimizes the Blood Flow
Massage has been used to relieve muscle tension and in the process also increases blood flow. When blood cannot flow normally, a headache may occur because the head area is not getting enough oxygen. One of the benefits of oxygen is the optimal function of cognitive and brain function. In other words, when blood is flowing optimally, conditions like a chronic tension headache could be prevented.
Reduces the Medication Usage
Reduces the Medication UsageThe easiest solution to deal with headaches is by taking painkillers. However, medication or drugs are not without side effects. That’s why we highly recommended finding an alternative solution to get rid of your headache. As mentioned above, massage could help prevent headaches and also treat headaches by dealing with the root of the problem. In other words, there is no point anymore for you to take pain killers to relieve head pain if you could do massage.
Massage therapy is an excellent alternative solution to help relieve headache pain. However, if the headache pain persists or gets worse, it is time for a visit to your doctor. Our massage therapists at Body Ache Escape are eager to meet you. Through their talented hands, they can relieve your pain. A massage therapist will use trigger point therapy, Swedish Massage and deep tissue massage to relieve headache pain, neck pain, and muscle spasms.
