Massage For Your Migraines?

For Some Migraineurs, Special Head and Neck Massages Help (1)

For all the research being done with electrical stimulation of nerves, surgeries to potent medications and herbs, for some migraineurs the answer to their misery could come from the unassuming massage. But this by no means is a regular spa massage. Conducted by migraine specialists the massage targets certain places and obstructions to relieve pain and reduce attack incidences. In other words, the migraineurs neither puts up with the horrible side-effects of hand-me-down drugs originally aimed at treating other conditions, nor does she have to go on impractical diets.

A Bay Area physical therapist, Sheldon Low has discovered a massage method that is not currently popular as a migraine treatment and management technique among other doctors. He has worked on some chronic migraineurs and those who experienced the migraine trauma since their teens with amazing results.

A therapist for 35 years, Low worked on patient Zoe Soane who had been migraining since she was only 13 and lived life less than optimally because of the recurrent attacks that left her exhausted with pain and dizziness and rattled. Simple things like motion, computer screen glare, sunshine or strong winds worked as triggers for her. Though Soane was referred to for neck issue but Dr. Low found her a massage technique that worked for her!

As per Dr. Low, “It’s my theory, and my experience that taking pressure off the scalp nerves, that’s taking away the impingement and causative agent of the headaches. I’m actually working into that scar tissue trying to break it down. It’s almost like controlled shearing. If you’re peeling an orange and trying to play that game to keep the orange peel together and you’re trying to work it around so you’re not breaking the peel apart.” (2)

The therapist says he look for lumps or bumps in the head and neck areas. If he finds them sensitive then he knows what he has to work on. He goes by common sense and knowledge that any lumps in that area are not normal and neither skull nor any other bone. Some times these lumps have formed as a part of body’s inflammatory response to a fall or injury that happened in childhood which has hardened over a period of time causing trouble and blockages now.

Soane’s migraine episodes have diminished in number and in intensity. This treatment could be transferred to other migraineurs as well or so believes Dr. Marc Lenaerts, a fellow of the American Headache Society who also runs the headache clinic at UC Davis Medical Center, “Freeing inflammatory fluids, and humors and freeing the adhesions between the tissues is a very important point and worthwhile looking into. Probably not enough people practicing and doing it on a regular basis. Conclusion is we need more scientific evidence, but it’s encouraging and worthwhile going further.” (2)

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