Relieve Headache with Trigger Point Massage: Frontal Headache

Many people suffer from headaches, including me.  There are different kinds of headaches: a tension headache, a migraine headache, a sinus headache and etc.  A tension headache is the most common type of headache, and it affects more women and middle-aged.  It’s not life-threatening, but a headache is such a nuisance and can be debilitating.    

Although I rarely take over-the-counter medications, I found interesting articles that the overuse of OTC pain medication is indeed a cause of headache!  It’s called “medication overuse headache (MOH)” previously known as rebound headache.  If you have a habit of popping pills for a headache, you might want to reconsider.  I first massage trigger points for a headache before taking ibuprofen as a last resort.  Many of my headaches happen after I spend long hours with a computer or something visually straining.  In this case, trigger point massage really works.   

If you have a frontal headache, first try this neck muscle called sternocleidomastoid (STUR-no-KLY-do-MAS-toid) (SCM).  This is the most important muscle to treat when you have problems anywhere in the head and face.

sternocleidomastoid (SCM)

SCM attaches to the bony knob behind the ear (mastoid process), and one branch inserts on the breastbone (sternum) and the other on the collarbone (clavicle) close to the breastbone.  You might not notice there are two branches because they feel like one thick rope going up toward the ear.  The blue circles in the image above indicated common trigger points in the sternal branch, and the gray ones are those in the clavicular branch.  You can grab this ropy muscle between your thumb and fingers (I use index and middle fingers) of the opposite side of your hand and squeeze it, starting up behind your earlobe down to your collarbone.  It’s easier if you tilt your head to the side. 

It’s uncomfortable to touch your neck in the beginning, but don’t be scared.  You can’t hurt yourself.  It feels actually better if you try to dig in and grab it (thicker than you think), instead of pinching the part of the muscle.  If you have trigger points, they hurt, but massaging those points relieves your headache, not only in the front of your head, but also over the eye, behind the ear, and in the top of the head.  It also eases temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain, deep eye pain, tongue pain, a deep earache, a toothache, and pain in the side of the face.  The trigger points on SCM do have extensive effects, so don’t overlook these hidden muscles.

Caution: Don’t massage a spot where you feel a pulse.  If you have atherosclerosis, do not massage this area.