Headache Relief Without The Pills

 What to do when headaches do not respond to traditional pain relief? Locate primary trigger points in the head, neck and shoulders and give yourself a five-minute massage.

1) Place your thumbs in front of your ears along your lower jawbone and press firmly into the muscles. You may want to grip your chin with your fingers to help establish a firm hold. Run your thumbs along the muscles of your jaw line from your ears to your chin.

2) Place your middle three fingers under your jaw line and drag them hard down the muscles that run along the sides of your neck.

3) Gently wrap your fingers around your neck with your thumbs placed firmly under the front of your collarbones. All the while pressing firmly, drag your thumbs across the full length of muscles that run under the clavicles from your throat to your shoulders. Especially notice the trigger points buried deeply on either sides of the neck muscles. If you find hard nodules, press firmly until you can no longer stand the pain and hold until you feel the pain diminish.

4) Move your hand position slightly so that your thumbs are nearest to the outer edges of your shoulders and your fingers are on either side of the backs of your shoulders between the spine and your wing bones. Now move your thumbs and your fingers simultaneously towards each other as you gently squeeze the muscles along the spine and across the tops of the shoulders.

5) Place your right hand up and over the back of your left shoulder blade. You may want to help your right hand reach back by gently pushing your right elbow back with your left hand. Run your fingers downward along the muscles under the blades. You'll find a trigger point just before you round the corner of your blade. Press your fingers as firmly as you can onto the trigger point until the pain subsides. Repeat to other side.

6) Feel for the occipital bone at the back of your head, usually half way down. Beginning with your fingers in the middle of the occipital, slowly press your fingers firmly into the tiny muscles working your way across the base of the skull until your come back to the underside of your ears. Press firmly up and into the flesh under your ears and behind your jawbone.

Additional information about trigger points:

http://www.crossfit.com/journal/library/37_05_trigger_points.pdf

http://www.triggerpointrelief.com/cdrom/trapezius.html