If you experience frequent or severe headaches, consult your healthcare provider about preventive medicines. Keep a headache diary to identify triggers and help find an ideal treatment solution.
Eating regular meals, avoiding foods known to trigger migraines and engaging in regular physical activity are all ways that you can manage headaches effectively.
Cold and heat
An application of cold or heat can help alleviate migraine pain. Ice can numb pain receptors and decrease inflammation while heating can loosen tight muscles, decrease blood flow, alleviate pressure and stiffness and provide relief from stress.
Exercise may help increase chemicals that block pain signals from reaching your brain. Consult your physician before embarking on a new fitness regime.
Avoid bright light and flickering screens that may lead to headaches and eye strain by using dark curtains in your home and sunglasses outdoors. Indulging in caffeinated beverages, MSG or tyramine-rich food items could trigger headaches as well. If cluster headaches have become excruciatingly painful for you, ask your dentist for a mouth guard so as to stop nightly grinding of the teeth.
Entrepreneur and extreme athlete Wim Hof claims his cold therapy, breathing exercises, and meditation techniques can alleviate various types of headaches; however, there is limited scientific support for his methods, which cost hundreds of dollars for online courses or in-person events.
Massage
Massage stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, providing an antidote for its dysfunctional “fight or flight” response which may trigger headaches. A relaxing massage also lowers heart rate and respiration rates while stimulating feel-good hormone release and inhibiting cortisol production – all helping reduce headache pain.
Tension-type headache sufferers may benefit from receiving a neck or scalp massage that targets tight muscles and dense tissue in their area. One study demonstrated that just 30 minutes of massage therapy significantly reduced headache duration and intensity in 4 out of 5 subjects studied.
Remedial massage may also provide relief for those experiencing hypnic headaches (also referred to as alarm clock headaches), which are characterized by throbbing or dull pain on one side of the head or face in repetitive cycles. A neuromuscular massage therapist trained in neuromuscular massage techniques may be able to target and relax stiff muscles that contribute to these types of headaches.
Over-the-counter pain medicine
At your local pharmacy, there are various solutions to provide headache relief. Over-the-counter painkillers like aspirin and ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), as well as acetaminophen (Tylenol), can be effective if taken in short doses as directed; without side effects like addiction and drowsiness.
These medications help alleviate various aches and pains, such as menstrual cramps, backache, sore throat or muscle sprain. NSAIDs help relieve inflammation that is causing the pain; Aspirin can be taken by children as an analgesic and blood thinner but should be used carefully due to Reye’s syndrome risks.
If symptomatic treatments don’t seem to help or you have a history of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, stomach ulcers or bleeding in the brain, speak with your healthcare provider immediately. They may prescribe preventive medicines which reduce both how often and the severity of headaches.
Nutritional supplements
Apart from medications, herbal and nutritional supplements may also help alleviate migraine headaches by relieving pain and symptoms. Some such vitamins and minerals include riboflavin (vitamin B2), magnesium, feverfew, coenzyme Q10 and ginger as sources of relief.
Riboflavin may help as scientists believe migraines may be caused by an issue with mitochondria utilizing energy efficiently, leading to oxidative stress that results in migraines. Riboflavin appears to help counter this effect while magnesium can reduce nausea and vomiting associated with migraines while simultaneously protecting bone health; feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium L.) helps decrease both pain and nausea associated with migraine headaches.
Coenzyme Q10 has shown to reduce migraine attacks and use of abortive medicines by up to 40%, but before taking any herbal or nutritional supplements it is wise to consult your physician about dosage and potential side effects; also avoid supplements linked with liver damage.
