SEEKING GENUINE HEADACHE RELIEF?

With more than 47% of the world’s adult population suffering from headaches every year, it’s important to find methods that can lead to true headache relief. Many people turn to over-the-counter and prescription medications as their primary form of headache treatment; however, this can actually be one of this condition’s leading causes.

There are five natural methods of pain relief no matter the type of headache you have: tension, migraine, or cluster. Each has its own process, but all have very potent capabilities.

HEAT AND COLD

This version of headache therapy has absolutely no risk and can be effective, even during pregnancy. That’s because issues like migraines can be caused by tension in the neck muscles, which is often reduced with the application of heat. For a migraine or other type of headache that throbs, ice both temples.

You have an artery that supplies blood to the lining of your brain. It sits behind the slim bone at the temple, and lowering blood temperature as it passes through that spot has proven to alleviate some of the throbbing.

ACUPUNCTURE

Acupuncture is the therapeutic insertion of needles under the skin. It aims to realign energy flow in the body. It has been found that acupuncture can help prevent acute migraines—often as well as migraine medication—with few side effects. It is also believed that this therapy can also offer relief to people with episodic or chronic tension-type headaches.

MASSAGE

Relief for headaches can be achieved through neck, back, head, or shoulder massage therapy. That’s because your head derives its balance on the top of your spine from the suboccipital muscle group, initiating and controlling fine movements. This means the suboccipitals work nearly around the clock, making massage of these muscle relaxing, satisfying, and a tremendous means of therapeutic relief for headaches.

STRETCHING

Various stretches have potential for relieving headaches through reducing muscle tension. While stretching should be an integral part of your daily routine, you should (at minimum) use them as a headache first comes on.

1. Neck Range of Motion: chin forward, upward, and toward each shoulder
2. Shoulder Shrugs: shrug up, up and forward, and up and back
3. Neck Isometrics: press palm into forehead and hold; press a hand on each side of your head

It is recommended that you stretch at least twice per day for approximately 20 minutes (per stretching period). You should hold each stretch for five seconds, then relax for five seconds, and repeat several times.

CHIROPRACTICS

There is research that shows how chiropractic (spinal manipulation) therapy can be an effective option for headache treatment. In 2001, Duke University Evidence-Based Practice Center in Durham, NC, determined that manipulating the spine yielded a near instant improvement for headaches originating in the neck—without the side-effects typically experienced with medication.

Get Headache Treatment in Charlotte, North Carolina

If you’re interested in pursuing an approach to headaches that treats the origins instead of masks or temporarily fixes the problem, you have resources near you like multidisciplinary pain clinics. While not all approaches to headache relief can be found at a particular clinic, some of the leading methods are utilized at Dynamic Health to help patients get genuine headache relief. Our professionals boast expertise in several areas of pain relief treatments.