Tension headaches, regularly mistaken as migraines, are an unfortunate part of many people's lives. They were a daily occurrence for almost a year with me before I found tremendous relief through massage and stress management.
These headaches typically start either in the shoulders or the base of the skull and work their way up and around the head to behind the eyes. They're horrible. Miserable. They try to take over your life if they get bad enough.
For some they may be a rare occurrence or a regular battle. No matter where you fall into that category, your body is all but screaming at you to fix the dysfunction that's happening.
Common triggers for these headaches are physical/emotional stress, too much/too little caffeine, sinus infections, teeth grinding, TMD (temporal-mandibular disease), dehydration, eye strain, and exhaustion.
Most who suffer from these horrible pains often complain of dull, heavy pressure in the neck/head, a tight band around the skull, an 'all-over headache', or worsening symptoms in the bottom of the neck, scalp, and temples.
While there are several remedies for tension headaches, massage therapy has been my personal "tried and true go-to" to reduce and manage headache symptoms. AMTA (American Massage Therapy Association) has a great article stating the benefits of massage specifically for tension headaches.
Other remedies include OTC medications such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen, accupunture, and muscle relaxers. I have also personally found that icing my shoulders and neck help reducing my symptoms and severity of headache - I am not saying that these will work for you, this is just my personal experience.
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