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Migraines or headaches are the last things any of us want.  So what can we do other than medication, is there a holistic way to help relieve migraines?

When I started school in 2011, my wife had been suffering from severe migraines in which medicine was the only remedy to help combat these debilitating headaches.  She had been diagnosed years before with migraines and with several different medications she finally found one that eased the pain with the one side effect no one can afford, loss of time.

migraine-massageNow the loss of time sounds bad and in this case, it was exactly that, she lost the whole day because the strength of the medicine would wipe her out.  So what do you do, suffer all day with debilitating pain or do you take a medication that wipes you completely out??  As a midwife, my wife could not afford to be out, people depended on her so like most people she suffered through, two to three days at a time in some cases.  So back to school for me, a new therapist and my only hope were to help people and not be in the hospital or clinical setting.  Little did I know that massage therapy would be not only my new passion but the answer to my wife’s problem.

A few weeks after starting school we learned about how massage could not only relieve stress and muscle soreness but it could decrease pain.  Could massage help with headaches/migraines, that was my hope and I would soon learn just what massage could do.

As a student what do we do, well we practice and practice, new techniques and in order to improve what do we do we need to practice at home!! Well, what better subject than my wife and let me tell you a massage every day, who would turn that down.  After several weeks she noticed that after a massage her migraine would dissipate, it didn’t necessarily go away but the pain was reduced, exactly what we were hoping for.  So not only was she suffering less but she was able to continue to function throughout the day unlike when medications were taken.

Now let’s step back for a minute, my wife suffered from migraines two sometimes threes times a week for years. With the introduction of regular massage we were noticing that over time here migraines were still present but the pain and downtime had decreased.  Well time went by and by the time school had ended (6 months later) the pain decreased and they were reduced to once or twice a month.

So did massage really help? Well, let’s put it this way my wife hasn’t taken migraine medication for over 6 years and hasn’t had a true migraine in more than a year.  So what changed? Well other than massage on a consistent basis 2-3 times a week in the beginning to once or twice a month and currently 4-5 weeks or so now that has been it.

Now am I saying massage is the cure for migraines; absolutely not, what I am saying is if you don’t want to take medication for pain relief with the possibility of losing the entire day then massage may be a safe alternative.  Massage can be used for so many things but pain relief is a definite bonus.  So will it work for you? Maybe it will, if only to reduce your suffering, isn’t it worth taking a chance?

As a therapist with over 5 years of experience, I wholeheartedly believe it is a safe alternative worth looking into and my migraine-free wife would agree.  I wish you well with your journey in finding relief with your headaches/migraines and with all things, invest in your health and invest in massage.

Have you suffered from migraines?  Have you tried massage? Comment below with your thoughts and your experiences with massage.

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