Chronic Headaches and Massage

I’ve said it before and I’ll probably continue to say it for the rest of my life, massage is not a luxury. Massage is a necessity to keep your body prepared for daily functional life. You can refer to our blog on how massage is beneficial to overall daily life here. Today, we’d like to focus on a specific affliction that can sometimes be crippling to our daily lives.

Chronic tension headaches and migraines affect more than 4 million people daily. (https://migraineresearchfoundation.org/about-migraine/migraine-facts/) They experience at least 15 symptoms monthly. There is a difference between chronic tension headaches and migraines as chronic tension headaches have not been associated with visual disturbances or nausea as migraines are. (https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/tension-headache/symptoms-causes/syc-20353977) Causes of chronic tension headaches and migraines have not been narrowed down, however there has been a link between muscle tension and chronic tension headaches.

Muscles that attach to the back of the skull, such as the trapezius (there are actually three parts to the trapezius, the upper lower and middle and in this case we focus more on the upper trapezius) and at the superior portion of the neck, such as the levator scapulae, can cause headaches when they have extreme tension due to causing a pull on the cervical vertebrae they attach to and surround. (https://brisbanemigraine.com.au/headache-related-neck-and-shoulder-tightness/)  Tension can be caused in these muscles many ways; and posture, stress, overuse of the muscles, etc. 

Trigger points that are found in the levator scapulae and upper trapezius can also cause headaches and migraines. Trigger points are hypersensitive nodules in the muscles that can be palpated. They are extremely sensitive in the area they are located in but can also cause  referred pain, or pain that travels somewhere other than the location of the trigger point. These trigger points can cause referred pain that creates headaches or migraines (https://www.myofascialtherapy.org/myofascial-therapy).

Most healthcare providers will tell you to combat the muscular tension with ways that create side effects, such as medications. The last thing they’ll usually mention is massage and exercise. Massage can be beneficial in the obvious form of muscle tension release. Massage is widely known, and used, for muscle tension release which could help if these muscles are in fact tense, thus creating these tension headaches. A massage modality that can be used and also extremely beneficial is trigger point therapy where a specific trigger point is located and focused on until it is released. Cupping is another massage modality than can be used to specifically treat trigger points and help in trigger point and tension release.

All of these are modalities we practice at Complete Wellness Therapy. If you suffer from chronic tension headaches or migraines, see if massage is beneficial to you. Set you appointment up with Complete Wellness Therapy here to see if massage could be beneficial for any headache ailments you may deal with.