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Oh, What A Headache Treating Headache and Migraine Sufferers with Advanced Massage.
 
Headaches and migraines can be crippling. They can strike at any moment and bring all that you are doing to a grinding halt. They are not uncommon, as it is estimated that migraines affect over 10 per cent of the UK population. Most of which are women. The worst part is that there has been little success from the medical community in producing options for migraine sufferers.
 
It is the goal of this article to explain what is known about migraines, their causes and effects. We would like to share with you our practical knowledge and success at treating sufferers. Through our experience we can encourage you, as bodyworkers, so that you can offer hope and change to people in pain.
 
What is a migraine?
There are two types: Migraine without an aura. The most common type experienced by 9 out of 10 sufferers.
 
With this type of migraine, an individual will experience severe throbbing, usually commencing behind one eye and travelling across the frontal part of the forehead. Associated digestive symptoms may include loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, constipation or diarrhoea.
 
Sensory input such as light, noise or smells becomes overwhelming, therefore sufferers seek quiet, darkened rooms for solace.
 
Migraine with a preceding "aura" (classical migraine)
In this case, the headache is preceded by visual disturbances. Sometime a flashing or blinding light, zig-zag lines or even blind spots are seen. Limbs, hands and feet can become tingly and burning. These attacks last about 22 hours, taking one to two days to fully recover. These happen about once a month or more.
 
What causes a migraine?
The exact cause of a common headache, as well as migraines has remained elusive from scientific researchers. However, research has established that much of the pain associated with headaches comes from restriction, compression and contraction of the structures of the brain, specifically muscle, fascia, blood vessels and certain nerve cells in the head.
The constriction of the muscle tissue, causing the first moments of severe pain and the subsequent forced dilation of the vessels brings the relentless throbbing. It has been suggested that, specifically, the constriction on the blood vessels causes the vomiting experienced by some sufferers. Most recently, it seems there may be a link between the onset of the headache and stimulation of the trigeminal nerve, which is located in the brain stem.
 
An imbalance in the body's pain detection system
 
The brain stem- located behind the eyes and nose - is partly responsible for responding to pain as a system of protection for our bodies. It makes us stop and take notice or slow down to repair.
When the trigeminal nerve which carries impulses to and from the face is alerted to pain, a series of events takes place and many neurotransmitters are released, including serotonin a "natural tranquiliser", to calm the system while it repairs itself. In people experiencing headaches, serotonin levels are often too low. When it decreases, for those susceptible, migraines flare up.
High production of serotonin correlates with healthy sleep.
 
Specific triggers for migraines and tension headaches
1. Dehydration
2. Physical fatigue or lack of sleep
3. Too much sleep
4. Certain foods such as cheese, wheat and alcohol
5. Extreme emotions
6. Irregular eating patterns
7. Hormonal factors, such as use of the contraceptive pill, periods, menopause.
 
What treatment is available?
Most sufferers find little comfort from modern medicine. The medical community offers drug related options, such as hormone therapy, severe pain killers and now serotonin. Unfortunately, as with many drug related therapies the side effects can be as debilitating as the original condition. Most clients we have seen have just accepted pain as a part of life, missing working days, holidays with families and both ordinary and extraordinary experiences in their life.
 
What you can do about it.
As bodyworkers, we understand how stress affects the body, specifically and holistically. Migraines are an important example of this. Here we will examine what alternatives bodywork in its many forms can offer sufferers.
 
Holistic care
The depletion of serotonin can be a factor in the occurrence of migraines. It is produced at times of rest and quiet rehabilitation for the body. This is what you can offer your clients with good focussed bodywork. Regular massage is a safe space to reground, regroup and replenish.
In fact, research has shown a one hour massage has the benefits for 4 hours of quality sleep.
 
Specific Techniques
If you have the tools to understand the body, you can make a real difference to people's pain, giving them the opportunity to replenish. If we understand that constraint of muscle, fascia, nerves and blood vessels contributes to this particular pain, we can examine possible techniques that work to release these constrictions. The following techniques are taught in JING's Foundation to Holistic Medical Massage workshop (over 3 days) and all have relevance to migraine pain and many other pain conditions that elude the medical community.
 
They include:
1. Deeper focussed massage
2. Trigger Point Therapy
3. Myofascial Release and an understanding of the role of the craniosacral rhythm
4. Advanced Stretching
 
We will now look at how each of these techniques can aid a migraine sufferer.
 
Deeper focussed massage.
In our clinical experience, encouraging the client to partake in regular "time out" through massage can, on occasions, be enough to cause relief from chronic headaches. Our definition of deep massage is intertwined with slow thoughtful bodywork. Work with your forearms, fists and hands to engage with the tissue and use slow deep moves that cause no pain but only relief to the body. Release tension in head, neck and shoulders and connect with your client on emotional, physical and spiritual levels. It is easy to make the analogy between a pressure cooker and the occurrence of a tension headache or migraine. The build-up of little stressors reach a boiling point and the body goes into an explosive overload. If you can offer individual regular sessions to decompress, it is very likely the occurrence of these headaches will reduce.
 
Trigger Point Therapy
In simple terms, trigger points are "knots" in muscles that cause referred pain. They can be released through simple treatment and quickly reduce the likelihood and severity of all types of headaches. There are many muscles in the neck, head and shoulders that can "trigger" migraine-like pain.
 
For example:
1. Sternocleidomastoid (SCM)
2. Splenius Capitus and Cervicis
3. Upper Trapezius
4. Sub occipital muscles
 
As a therapist you can safely palpate and treat with specific compression the trigger points in these muscles to bring relief for your client. For example, trigger points in the SCM can cause pain above the eye, and, if severe, across the whole of the forehead.
We work to treat each of these "primary trigger points" 3-4 times per session in up to six sessions. Treatment in conjunction with stretching encourages permanent release and lengthening of these muscles.
If you are specifically interested in treating trigger points in these muscles for migraine and other conditions of the head, neck and shoulder, we cover all these muscles and their treatment in our Neck and Shoulder pain 2-day Advanced course.
 
Craniosacral Therapy
Craniosacral therapy is an excellent adjunct therapy for massage therapists to have in their bodywork "toolbox" and can have dramatic results in headache treatment.
Craniosacral therapy focusses on the subtle motility of the cranial bones and the role of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord - particularly the dura mater.
The cranium, spine and sacrum are all connected by a continuous membrane of the body's deepest fascia, the dura mater, which houses the brain and CNS. Craniosacral fluid (CSF) is pumped through the membranes, creating a pulse of 6-12 beats per minute. Cranial therapists believe that anything that blocks the flow of this fluid can cause physical and mental distress including headache or other pain. This pulse has come to be known as the craniosacral rhythm
Craniosacral therapists evaluate dysfunction and distortion in the dura mater and harmonise the craniosacral rhythm (CSR) to restore a healthy balance. This enables the brain's structures to "breathe" as it were and relieve undue pressure.
 
Myofascial Work
Fascia is the membrane that surrounds muscles, bones, organs, nerves, blood and lymph vessels. All fascia is totally interconnected like a 3 dimensional body stocking and surrounds every structure down to cellular level. It is easy to see that if fascia gets tight or "stuck" it can press on pain sensitive structures to cause many types of pain, including headaches.
Because it is a continuous structure, working on one part of the fascial "net" can help to uncoil and release structures as deep as the dura mater, brain stem, and the deepest nerve bundles, providing profound relief from pain.
 
Towards an integrative healthcare approach
The true skill of bodywork excellence lies in the combination of technique with the particular needs of your client at that time. You should be able to create a tailored suit for your client rather than having a "one size fits all" approach. At Jing we believe in giving you a range of effective techniques and the creativity and confidence to blend them into an effective treatment that most of all produces RESULTS. Having the knowledge and tools behind you is how you build a practice, how you carry on loving your work and most of all, how we spread the word of the beauty, effectiveness and skill of great bodywork. With these techniques, treating a headache won't be such a headache for you and your client.
 
© Jing Advanced Massage and Training is an organisation dedicated to excellence in all aspects of postgraduate massage training. Based in Brighton. We offer courses around the country. Please call or check our website for further information and course dates.
info@jingmassage.com
www.jingmassage.com
Tel: 01273 628942
 
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