Headache help, questions answered

Recently, several people have asked me about headaches. So I thought maybe I should share my response. In good health, Tamar

Headaches generally fall into 3 categories:
tension
migraine
cluster

1. cluster headaches are the most rare, they are the most severe, and can last for 30 seconds in bursts up to days.

     2. Migraine headaches have several triggers, and the easiest way to control them (other than really great prescription drugs), is to find the triggers and eliminate them. I'll get back to that. But one of the triggers can be tension headaches.

    3. Tension headaches are caused by tight muscles. But here's the thing, tight muscles can come from SO many things:

• sleeping/sitting in the wrong position (over stressing a muscle, knocking a vertebra out of line)
• stress and literally tightening your muscles from not relaxing or breathing (extremely common in NY)
• eye strain (which could be from staring at a computer, or TV, or reading in low light, or being in bright sunlight)
• trigger points (super tight knots in any muscle which pulls on fascia.) NOTE: Trigger points can be latent or active. Active ones you feel from the outside and from the inside. They hurt when you push on them. Latent ones may be more buried and only flare up when they want to. To release a trigger point, you put direct pressure on it (with a thumb or tool) til there's a pain of about 6 or 7 (on a 1 to 10 scale) and simply hold it til the pain goes away. There could be many small trigger points on the scalp or in the neck/shoulders.

When tension headaches go on too long, they can cause migraines. Migraines are classified as any headache that lasts a long time. They're usually one sided and throbby. They can cause nausea and sensitivity to light and sound. I know. I get them.

Massage is extremely helpful to control headaches. If it's a tension headache, it's easily helped by the right massage. However, if it's a migraine headache, you generally don't want to massage because it may make it worse. The idea is to learn how to breathe, take care of yourself, and have relaxed muscles all the time, so you don't get tension headaches. That's where massage is best...as preventative medicine. If you want to massage yourself, or a friend in pain, be sure to check out my blog entry: Massage For Loved Ones.

Also, I find different medicines will work for different kinds of headaches, and then only if you catch it early.  You may have to play around to find the right one.

Triggers: There are a lot of triggers for migraines, other than a tension headache that's gone on too long.

• sunlight
• lowlight
• visual disturbances (video games, tv shows/films that are handheld camera are AWFUL)
• riding in cars/trains, especially bumpy or twisty ones
• caffeine (but can also help with migraines)
• chocolate
• milk of cow, sheep or goat.
• bananas, strawberries, eggs, beef, pork
• gluten, corn, soy, nuts

Some home remedies for migraines (again, you have to catch it early):

• almonds
• put the inside of a banana peel on your head (the potasium may help)
• vitamin C (NOT to be taken with any other blood thinners like Advil/aspirin)
• massage
• putting your heads and/or feet into a basin of VERY hot water. It pulls the blood away from your head.
• coffee or any caffeinated drink
• a nap in a comfortable position
• cold compress (or hot) on the forehead/over eyes
• deep breathing of fresh air and looking at far distances.  

Some stories:
 The worst migraine of my life came when I saw the film, "The Wrestler". The film is shot handheld and extremely shaky. About 15 minutes into the film I thought, oh no, I'm getting a migraine. I took a pill. But it was already too late. Instead of leaving or averting my eyes (which I now do quite often in hand held films), I kept watching. That migraine lasted 3 days and I was really nauseous the whole time.

 My mom used to get migraines. Until she noticed that what she got BEFORE the migraine was a sort of aura/visual disturbance. So now, when she sees the aura, she drinks some caffeinated coffee, breathes, relaxes, and usually she doesn't get the headache.

 The best thing is to write down all food and activities so that when you get a migraine, you can find the pattern. And here's the rub: migraines can come as late as 4 days after the food trigger. Eg: I have a ton of food "allergies" (really intolerance, I don't go into anaphylactic shock). If I have one bite of ice cream, I'll probably be OK. If I have a bowl of ice cream, I may get a migraine 4 days later. And if I have a little milk for 4 days straight, then a few days later I'll be in so much pain, and it's going to last for days. It builds up in your system.

FOOD ALLERGIES:  (and see my THINGS I DON'T LIKE TO TALK ABOUT for more food allergy info)
My mom is allergic to corn, which is in EVERYTHING. White vinegar is made from corn. Baking powder,powdered sugar, vegetable oil, "natural flavorings". You name it. She has a TERRIBLE time eating out or finding products that are properly labeled. And if she eats something with a trace of corn in it, it sets off her allergic reaction and makes her react to many, many more things. Chickens are corn fed. Beef can be corn fed. Fish can be corn fed. Vitamins and...antihistamines for allergies...have corn in it. Awful. So...the more you read, the more you know, but the more frustrating it can be.

Generally, whatever you eat the MOST, is what your body may become allergic to. Wheat, corn, soy, eggs, milk are in almost EVERYTHING. So take some cooking classes, find some headache support websites, and learn to cook from the outside aisles of the grocery store. If it's in a box...don't eat it. It will change your life. The day I got my blood test results, I panicked. I literally couldn't think of one thing to eat or make that didn't have something I was allergic to. I threw out everything in my kitchen. I ate a handful of blueberries (which I now know...I'm allergic to). Then I started taking cooking classes to learn how to cook from scratch so that I can control what I eat. I travel with food. I stock up on food. I have lists of places I can eat when traveling. It's a pain. But it helps.

Massage FAQ

Recently, a friend asked me a few, really good questions about massage. So I figured I'd share my answers with you.

 Q: I usually wait to get a massage until I'm a mess. Probably not a good idea?

  A: Think of massage as gardening work. You have to tend to the garden (your body) on a regular basis. You have to feed it, water it, pull the weeds out, and nurture it. By the time it's overgrown with weeds, dry and dead, it's much harder to bring it back to life. Waiting til you're a total mess...not recommended.




Q: I've gotten really painful massages in the past, where I'm really sore afterwards. Is this normal? Healthy? Does a massage have to hurt to be beneficial?

A: For a massage to be beneficial, it does NOT have to hurt, not during and not after, although it is quite common. A lot of therapists (especially unlicensed, and untrained ones) think they can work knots and trigger points out in one, long session. I think that's not true and can be dangerous. The way I see it, if I have a knot for 10 years...you're NOT getting it out in an hour. Muscles can only handle so much pressure in any given session, and eventually the inflammatory response kicks in and you start to get swelling, bruises and irritation. Plus, if it hurts while receiving, then the client tenses up and actually fights the work. You may feel much better in a day or so, but there's a much better way.

 On a scale of 1 to 10, you only need to go the depth of a 6 to effect a muscle. And you can only do that for so long. So it's much better to have a series of massages, with at least 5 days in between, and go a little lighter. I personally believe that all massages should feel good. Once the surrounding muscles have started to release their tension, you can start to go a little deeper...but it won't hurt. You can do that, and should do that, in one session, but also in subsequent sessions.

  Every person has their own tolerance level for "pain". Also, there's a difference between "good pain" and "bad pain". "Good pain" is when you're thinking, "oh, man! That hurts, but I kinda like it, don't stop." "Bad pain" is when you're thinking, "this sucks, how long do I have to endure this?" You should NEVER have bad pain during a session. Not even for a moment.

 Please stick with the licensed massage therapists. You want someone who does a medical discussion first, and is easy to communicate with.  Knots are several things, Trigger points are tight bands of muscle tissue that are continuing to fire, even when they're not being used. If that knot gets inflamed, and starts rubbing against other tendons, it can eventually lead to scar tissue. But not ALL knots are, or will lead to scar tissue. Usually, that's only for areas of the body that have been injured/torn/strained at some point.

 Massage is a wonderful tool that's been around for years. When worked on by the right person (and the same therapist is NOT right for everyone, it's completely personal taste), massage is fantastic for relaxation, pain relief, faster injury recover, and a whole lot more. But there are some times when massage is completely inappropriate (fever, swollen glands, open wounds, recent severe injury, etc.). So please discuss all current (and major past) medical conditions with your therapist. And please don't go to the people on the street or in malls (unless they're licensed). You run more risk of being injured than helped.

And if you've NOT gotten a massage yet...what are you waiting for? HealingWithTouch.com

And lastly, some good news. I was accepted to do massage on the athletes at the London Summer Olympics. So I'll be working on the tennis players and stationed at Wimbledon. It's my 3rd Olympics, and I'm looking forward to seeing my US Open players in London. Very exciting! The Olympics are ALL volunteer. 70,000 of us believing in a peaceful world event and celebrating the realization of dreams coming true. There's just nothing else like it. Seeing the world's best athletes is always incredibly inspiring and humbling. So be sure to watch this July!