Self Massage for Tension Headaches
I don’t think I’ve ever had a tension headache. My husband, on the other hand, gets them regularly. Since I’ve taught him about self massage, he’s been able to decrease the severity and frequency of his headaches.
Tightness in the muscles in your shoulders and neck all contribute to tension headaches. First squeeze the large muscle in your shoulder, the upper trapezius, slowly between the thumb and forefingers of the opposite hand. The action of squeezing and releasing should take about six seconds total. As you squeeze you should twist the muscle slightly. When you squeeze this muscle your headache will probably intensify some. Don’t worry, that always happens. The pain should be a good pain. Don’t squeeze the muscle until you’re in agony. The more you do self massage, the better you’ll be able to monitor the cues your body gives you. Squeeze this muscle five to six times on both sides.
Now move to the back of the neck. On either side of you spine you can feel muscle. (Don’t massage over the spine.) Basically you want to do the same thing to the muscles on either side of the spine at the back of the neck that you did to your shoulders. I use the the hand on the same side that I’m working on for this. Squeeze the muscles at the back of your neck five to six times also. Once you’ve finished make some circles along the base of the skull.
There is a muscle that runs from behind your ear to your clavicle. It’s called the sternocleidomastoid or SCM. Loosening this also helps decrease your tension headache. Again just slowly squeeze and release the muscle. Do it down the length of the muscle five to six times.
As soon as you feel a tension headache coming on, increase your water intake and start massaging.
Photo by Geekgirly
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