How To Relieve A Tension Headache
Do you get tension headaches?
Tension headaches are the most common type of headache & people who suffer from them report feeling a tight band around the head, or as if the head has been put in a vice.
With these types of headaches the tension is usually felt around the temples , forehead & the back of the head just above the neck.
These types of headaches usually come on slowly & generally don’t cause vomiting, nausea or light sensitivity.
What Causes Them?
It can be any number of things that can trigger a tension headache that I won’t go into here, but what is happening to cause the tension is that a couple of small muscles in the head become really tense. These muscles are called the Temporals & the Occipital.
The temporals are small, thin muscles located on the sides of your head around the Temples. The Occipital is a band of muscle that is located at the base of the skull, just above the back of the neck.
When the Occipital muscle gets tight it usually causes the Temporal muscles to tense up as well, the combination of these 3 muscles tensing up is what causes the ‘tight band’ feeling you get when you suffer from a tension headache.
The good news is that by using a couple of really simple massage techniques you can relieve the symptoms of a tension headache by yourself.
How To Relieve A Tension Headache
The first thing to do is massage the Occipital
Run your first two fingers up the side of your neck until you feel a bony lump at the bottom of your head.
Drop your fingers down just below this bony point & you will feel a softer area, this is your occipital (see picture below)
Using your same two fingers, apply some gentle pressure & move your fingers in small circular motions. Do this on both sides of the head simultaneously.
As you massage the Occipital you should feel some of the tension in your head release.
Next you will want to massage the Temporals.
Place your fingertips on your Temples (the sides of your head, just above & in front of your ears)
Applying slightly less pressure than when you massaged your Occipital, move your fingertips in small circular motions to release the tension.
As you massage the Temporals move your fingertips into different positions on the sides of the head to relieve tension in different areas of the muscles.
Finally, take both of your index fingers & place them right on the inside edges of your eyebrows & apply pressure. Keep the fingers still whilst holding the pressure steady & hold for around 30 seconds.
When using these techniques it is important to start gentally & slowly increase the pressure if needed. Always listen to your body & be mindful to not apply too much pressure.
As a general guideline I would say to do each technique for around 30 seconds to 1 minute
I hope you find this helpful
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