Massage Therapy as Migraine Relief

Imagine it's a beautiful Saturday afternoon. You're nauseated laying in a dark room with the curtains pulled together, and a pillow over your head. The television downstairs where your child is playing is set on a volume level of two, and it's still too loud. All you want out of your day is for this debilitating torture, for which you've been afflicted, to end.

If you're a chronic migraine sufferer, you know this scene all too well.

A migraine is the constriction and dilation of the cerebral and cervical blood vessels. This initiates the release of inflammatory substances that cause painful pulsations. They can last anywhere between 4 hours to a week and as frequently as 2 to 4 times a week. Approximately 28 million americans suffer from migraines annually. Massage therapy is a great alternative to using over the counter and prescription drugs to treat migraine headaches.

Research shows that massage therapy is a safe and cost effective way to use in prevention and treatment of migraine headaches and stress management. The national headache foundation's case studies reflect that some of these headaches stem from postural imbalances and limited range of motion. They also indicate muscle tension and joint or nerve involvement play a big role in association with migraines. A qualified massage therapist can help alleviate your migraine pain by using kneading and gliding techniques in combination with gentle, passive stretching. This can help soften, add length and flexibility to shorten muscles; with special focus and detail to: the splenius, trapezius, sternocleidomastoid (SCM) and suboccipital muscles. These muscles are often valnerable and posture is a affected due to our desk jobs, long distant driving, previous injuries, and even the way we sleep. The common treatment plan is an over the counter or a prescription medication routine. Which can grow into dependency with no relief from a daily headache or migraine pain. This tug of war with migraines and medications, which can lose their affect, may leave you feeling helpless. Massage therapy is a great tool for the treatment and prevention, but it doesn't stop there. Finding the underlying causes and prevention is equally as important.

Specialists estimate that 60-90% of all visits to a primary care physican are for stress related complaints. Among those complaints: depression, anxiety, fatigue and insomnia can not only be stress related, but can progress into migraines. Many of us may not even realize that something as small as our morning cup of coffee, or those pickles on our sandwich could trigger an onset. Everyday foods that could initiate the onset of a migraine are products such as: caffeine, aged cheese, nitrites, monosodium glutamate (MSG) and foods that have been pickled or fermented. With attention to diet, regular exerise and preventive massage therapy; a chronic migraine suffer may be able to subdue the pain and reduce the frequency of occurance.

While massage therapy is an excellent way to treat and prevent migraine headaches, if you find that your pain is still consistent; you should visit a neurologist. Your pain could be your bodys' expression of a much bigger problem.

Natasha Triplett CMA, LMT, Artistry in Motion Massage Therapy, http://www.ammt.massagetherapy.com/,