Health & Fitness
Holidays and Headaches
The difference in Migraine and Tension Headaches and how to treat them naturally.
Migraine or Tension?
Many clients come to me complaining of migraine headaches. When I ask them if they have been diagnosed by a neurologist, most of them say no. While you can certainly have a migraine without a diagnosis, you do not want to treat a tension headache like a migraine. They are two very different things. Migraines come from increased pressure in the head due to dilated blood vessels and too much fluid in the head. (This is why aspirin is not recommended, as it will dilate blood vessels further and add to the problem.) Tension headaches come from too much pressure outside the head. Tight muscles in the head neck jaw, and yes, even the low back
creates a vise like pressure on the head. When muscles stay too tight, too long
they become congested with waste buildup. The muscles begin to form tender trigger points that refer pain into the head. This is why aspirin can help an occasional tension headache because it opens blood vessels and gets fresh blood to the area. This helps clean out the toxic buildup.
Probable Causes
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While both types of headaches can be caused by allergies and toxins in the environment, migraines are notorious as food allergy indicators. The most common food allergens are corn,soy, wheat, chocolate, caffeine and peanuts. These also seem to be in every holiday goodie! You can have your allergies tested or you can use the tried and true method of eliminating a suspected allergen from your diet for 21 days and then reintroducing it. If your migraines are due to food allergies, you will know it within 24 hours. It helps to eat a good meal before going to any holiday parties. You will be less tempted by the snacks and less likely to indulge in something that will cause a headache later.
Tension headaches are usually traced to tight muscles in the head, neck, back and jaw. The tight muscles can come from emotional stress, poor posture, poor eyesight, and lack of exercise, injury such as whiplash from a car accident or sports injury. Muscles are designed to move and through that movement, they clean themselves out. Stagnation occurs when they do not get to move through their entire range of motion.
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Treatments
When working with clients that have real migraines, I help them pinpoint any allergies and B vitamin deficiencies. I use some very subtle Craniosacral techniques to reduce the inflammation/congest-ion in the head and improve the flow of cerebral spinal fluid. I have found that a cool pack at the base of the neck can help alleviate some of the inflammation and can often ward off a small migraine before it gets out of hand. I finish with gentle lymph drainage techniques to help fluid drain away from the area. While this treatment can reduce acute pain, the best treatment is in prevention. Schedule a session before an acute event. Just because it doesn’t hurt at the moment doesn’t mean that the underlying causes can’t be addressed. In fact if the underlying causes can be addressed, the acute events can be reduced or even eliminated.
My tension headache sufferers receive massage and trigger point work to loosen the tight muscles, lymph drainage techniques to drain excess toxin buildup. We finish with Craniosacral therapy to release any tension in the dural tube, (the protective covering around the nervous system.) Gentle stretching is recommended homework for my clients.
The best way to avoid a tension headache is to move, breathe and drink enough water. You would be surprised to find how much your body hurts due to dehydration alone!