Do You Have Migraines? Have You Tried This Method?

Headaches and migraines are the most common, yet very distressing condition that many people get.  I’ve written many posts about headache relief.  Recently, I gained better insight into migraines from webinars and articles by Til Luchau, LMT.  

Migraines were thought to be caused by dilated blood vessels of the brain.  However, it is now being viewed as a nervous system disorder, along with other factors.  A goal of massage or bodywork is to reduce the compression on the cranial nerves. 

One of the ways you can try to relieve migraine pain is pulling your ears.  When you pull your ears, you also pull the temporal bones slightly. Deep behind the temporal bone is the trigeminal nerve, the likely cause of migraines and cluster headaches.  Pulling the ears might help relieve the pressure on the trigeminal nerve.  You should experiment which angle of the pull relieves the pain better; straight to the side, up, down, back and etc.  Once you found the right angle, hold the traction and relax for a while. I hope this will work for you.

If you are interested in finding more details and other ways to relieve migraine pain, read the article here.  It is designed for massage therapists/bodyworkers, but you can try yourself or ask your massage therapist if they are familiar with the techniques.

Text Neck

Unfortunately, modern technology is not necessarily doing good for our bodies.  I wrote about a “Forward Head Posture” and “Texting Thumb” a while back.  There is an increasing problem we can’t overlook.

“Text Neck” is happening more to younger people, even small children.  It’s not caused by just texting, but using any types of handheld mobile devices including tablets for long periods of time.  Looking down at a device causes the back of the neck overstretched and inflamed.  The common symptoms are headaches, pain in the shoulders, neck, back, arms, elbows, and wrists, and even numbness and tingling of the arms and hands.  Dr. Dean Fishman, who coined the term “Text Neck,” calls this condition “a harmful and dangerous physical condition on the human body.”  The long term risks can be flattening or reversing the natural spinal curve, early onset of arthritis, spinal degeneration, disc herniations and etc.  This poor posture decreases the lung capacity leading to vascular disease, and puts pressure on the organs causing gastrointestinal problems.  It sounds pretty serious, doesn’t it?

How do we avoid “Text Neck”?  Old habits die hard, but think seriously about the long term consequences especially if you are still young.  Here are suggestions.  

Tablet stands / docking stations:

Use a stand or a docking station to put your device closer to your eye level.

“Text Neck Indicator” (for Android):

This app alerts you when you tilt a smartphone too low and are at risk for Text Neck.  Unfortunately, I haven’t yet found an app for iPhone.

Look up!

Look up and turn your head left and right 10 times whenever possible.

Do exercises:

Try these exercises I posted at “Stretching and Strengthening Exercises at Your Desk (1) and (2).”       

Stretching and Strengthening Exercises at Your Desk (1) - Upper Body Stretching

Computer is a great invention, but it created a lot of trouble for us.  Sitting and typing almost all day causes tension or pain all over our body; in the eyes, head, neck, upper shoulder, between the shoulder blades, mid back, lower back, hips, arms, wrists and fingers.  It can lead to the conditions such as tension headaches, thoracic outlet syndrome, functional thoracic hyperkyphosis, and carpal tunnel syndrome. 

Your arms always out in front to type and looking at the monitor changes your posture to a “Forward Head Posture (FHP).”  

It is very difficult to change your habitual posture even if you try.  So, here are a few examples of easy stretching and strengthening exercises, which you can do at desk any time without interrupting your work.  The important thing is to remember to do as often as possible throughout the day.  Find a chance while reading email, listening to a speaker phone, or going to the restroom.

Stretching

Slowly and gently.

Do not force the stretch (pain-free).

Keep other muscles as relaxed as possible.

Back of your neck: When your head is forward, the back of your upper neck gets tight.

• Let your head hang  (the chin closer to the chest) without forcing it.  Bend only the neck without flexing your upper back.  Hold it for 15-30 seconds.  The stretch should be felt in the back of the neck, not in the upper back.  
  
• [Deeper stretch] Rest the hands on the back of the head so the weight of the arms pulls the head down further.

Chest: With your arms out in front, the chest muscles are shortened.

• Clasp your fingers behind your head or ears (deeper stretch).  Draw the elbows further back until you feel resistance. And, raise your shoulders at the same time. Hold it for 15-30 seconds while taking deep breaths.
  
• Clasp your fingers behind your back, and pull them away from you until you feel the nice stretch in the chest. 
  

Upper body: Your upper body is likely slouchy.  It needs a nice lift-up, so you can also breath better.

• Clasp your fingers in front of you with the palms facing out.  Slowly raise your hands over your head, and lift up toward the ceiling while breathing in.  Hold it for 5 seconds.  Repeat 3 times.
  

I will cover strengthening exercises in the next post.