Find Natural Relief for Headache Pain

Headaches are extremely inconvenient, frustrating, and painful. Anyone who’s suffered through a pounding headache can attest that it can feel almost impossible to complete simple tasks while dealing with the pain. Headaches can affect anyone, anytime. Headaches are one of the most common forms of chronic pain, and anyone who’s suffered from a splitting headache knows how difficult it can be to carry on simple daily tasks when you’re trying to cope with one. Headaches are rarely dangerous, but they can be quite inconvenient, if not debilitating.

While some turn to medication as a treatment for headaches, there are natural alternatives available as well. Wouldn’t it be nice to have some coping techniques that didn’t involve popping pills with a long list of long-term side effects? Lifestyle changes are the best way to not only treat pain but PREVENT headaches in the first place. Unlike pain medication that only treats the symptoms, identifying the root cause of the problem can help to mitigate the discomfort from your headaches as well as set you up with an appropriate treatment plan.

When it comes to headaches, not all are created equal, and the best treatment for a headache is specific to its cause. Lifestyle plays a major role in headache severity and frequency. For example, stress and tension is the leading cause of headache. By reducing stress, it stands to reason you can reduce the frequency of headaches.

Learn the Difference

Knowing the difference between a typical headache and a migraine is important because understanding leads to better care and can help prevent future discomfort from occurring.

Headaches are the cause of unpleasant pressure or aching that can range from mild to severe. Pain can be experienced in the forehead, temples, and back of the neck. Stress, muscle strain, and anxiety are all triggers for common headaches.

Headache types include tension headaches, sinus headaches, or cluster headaches, with the most common headache type being a tension headache.

Migraines, on the other hand, are more intense and can be associated with additional symptoms such as nausea, sensitivity to light, or vomiting. Migraines typically only affects one side of the head and may cause a throbbing pain that can make performing daily tasks very difficult.

Migraine headaches can be divided into two categories: migraine with aura and migraine without aura. The term aura refers to sensations a person experiences before the onset of a migraine, such as seeing flashing lights or feeling tingling or numbness in the face.

Relaxation Techniques

Stress is the most likely cause behind tension headaches — the most common type of headache.

We are all surrounded by stressful situations, but there are steps you can take to help prevent that stress from turning into a headache.

Common relaxation techniques include:

• heat therapy, such as applying warm compresses or taking a warm shower
• massage
• meditation
• neck stretching
• relaxation exercises

Here are two gentle neck stretches for releasing tension:

Seated Neck Release
From a comfortable seated position, gently bend your right ear toward your right shoulder while taking several deep breaths. You can deepen the stretch by applying gentle pressure with your hand to the side of your head. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat on the left side.

Seated Clasping Neck Stretch
From a comfortable seated position, sit up tall and clasp your hands behind the head. Gently push your head down, bringing the chin to the chest. Take several deep breaths and hold for 30 seconds before releasing the stretch.

Relief

Millions of people are affected by migraines.

Getting to the root of the problem will help SOLVE the problem, whereas treating symptoms merely equates to putting a bandage on the issue. Let’s take a look at some common underlying causes of migraines.

• Common migraine triggers include:
  Sensitivity to foods, such as gluten, peanuts, dairy, or eggs. By removing trigger foods from your diet, you may eliminate migraines.
• Hormonal imbalances, for example, premenstrual migraines caused by imbalances in estrogen and progesterone, can be triggered with excessive alcohol, sugar, flour, and starches.
• Nutrient deficiency of magnesium or riboflavin can cause migraines, and can easily be corrected with diet or supplements.

Effective Essential Oils

Have you considered all your options for reducing headaches? Essential oils are used as remedies for a variety of ailments, including headache relief.

The use of essential oils as therapy is called aromatherapy and is a common complementary alternative therapy. Essential oils are concentrated plant compounds and have been used throughout history for healing. The goal of essential oil therapy is to improve ailments naturally and holistically.

However, don’t let the term “alternative” fool you. The following essential oils have been scientifically shown to treat headaches:

• Lavender oil
• Rosemary oil
• Peppermint oil
• Chamomile oil
• Eucalyptus oil

Essential oils can be applied in several ways. To apply directly to the forehead, dilute the essential oil with a carrier oil, such as coconut. You can inhale oils by adding to a diffuser or placing a few drops on a cotton ball and holding it to your nose. Additionally, a few drops can be added to a warm bath for a relaxing soak.

You can mix oils to create your perfect scent and for a more potent effect.

Seasonal Headaches

Whether the flowers are blooming, foliage is turning, or snow is falling, seasonal changes may be causing your headaches. From barometric pressure changes to pollen allergies, there are tons of different triggers for seasonal headaches.

The frequent shifts between sun and rain can cause atmospheric pressure changes in the spring that can negatively impact the sinuses. The summer is warm and humid, and people tend to perspire more, which can lead to dehydration and headaches. As the days shorten with the arrival of fall, sleeping patterns can shift triggering headaches and migraines. The cold dry temperatures of winter may also lead to dehydration with the increased usage of central heating.

Many of the same preventive measures recommended year-round to reduce migraine attacks are also effective against seasonal triggers. Keep your diet, sleep, and exercise routines on track. If you aren’t aware of your specific allergy triggers, talk with your doctor. Once you know what to watch out for, you can limit your exposure to particular allergens.

Acupuncture

Another method of  treating headaches is with acupuncture.

Acupuncture is a component of traditional Chinese medicine and is widely used around the world for the treatment of various ailments. Tiny needles are inserted into pressure points to increase blood flow. The needle stimulates the release of hormones, such as endorphins, that trigger a response from your immune and circulatory system, which relieves migraines and tension headaches.

Acupuncture has been noted to relieve pain, relax targeted muscles, and soothe the body’s stress response. In addition to offering a host of benefits, acupuncture is long-lasting without the potential side effects of medications.

A number of studies have reported beneficial outcomes of acupuncture for headache relief. Acupuncture can help reduce the duration and lessen the frequency of headaches. The method can be useful as a preventative therapy as well.

The Cause of Your Migraines

When looking for the cause of an illness, in this case, migraines, it’s important to remember the name merely identifies the symptoms and nothing about the cause of the symptoms. While many individuals can experience the same symptoms, they each may have a unique cause. In fact, there may be more than 20 different causes of migraine headaches!

Identifying a specific cause takes some detective work. Let’s examine two different causes and associated care for both.

• Gut Imbalances
  Headaches associated with fatigue, brain fog, bloating, irritable bowel syndrome, joint or muscle pain, postnasal drip, and sinus congestion can be linked to food allergies. Blood, stool, or urine testing can be done to determine the allergen. It is recommended to try an elimination diet, where specific foods are removed from the diet to lessen symptoms.
• Chemical Triggers
  Heavily processed diets contain large amounts of chemicals such as aspartame, MSG, nitrates, and sulfites, all of which may be headache triggers. Removing additives, sweeteners, sulfites, and processed foods from the diet can have a huge impact on headache incidence.

Migraine Facts

Migraines…

• are the most common disabling brain disorder.
• makeup 4.4% of visits to general practitioners, 5% of hospitalizations, and 20% of neurology consultations.
• are more common in women than men.
• increases the risk of Medication Overuse Syndrome.
• are named from the Greek word hemicrania, meaning half of the head.
• can cause pain on one side of the head, flip from side to side, or cause pain on both sides.
• are usually associated with other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, dizziness, extreme sensitivity to lights, noises, and smells, lack of appetite, and disturbances of bowel function.

Many people have experienced a debilitating migraine headache. Conventional treatments aim to identify and avoid triggers, and additionally use a variety of medications upon symptom onset. Unfortunately, medications don’t cure and may come with negative side effects.

Seeking root cause as we do in functional medicine uses a more in-depth list of triggers to either identify the cause of a migraine or pinpoint a starting place for further investigation so that you’re less likely to get the migraine at all in the first place!