Did you know that tension headaches are incredibly common? Most people would probably list sinus headaches at the number one spot, but, according to researchers, that award actually goes to tension headaches. These headaches tend to feel as though someone has wrapped a rubber band around your skull and is tightening it. You might also feel the pain only at the base of your skull, where it meets your spinal cord and column. No matter where the pain appears, these headaches have one thing in common – they are quite painful and often appear at the most inconvenient times. Here’s how you can get rid of them, without resorting to things like pain medication.
Try Aromatherapy
While aromatherapy has gotten a bad reputation in recent years, thanks to the rise in essential oil companies with questionable practices, some types of aromatherapy can actually be quite helpful. This is one of them. Certain scents can cause you to relax, alleviating the tension that was the main cause of your headache in the first place. (And for the record, these types of headaches are indeed brought on by stress and anxiety.) Try to use a mint-based or lavender essential oil. Both are calming and can help get rid of your tension headache.
See a Chiropractor
A chiropractor is good at determining which parts of your body are out of alignment and then readjusting them in order to take care of your pain. If you go to one for a tension headache, don’t be surprised if the true cause of it has something to do with the section of your body where your head meets your neck. This spinal manipulation can help get rid of the cause of a headache, leaving you pain-free, until it flares up again. Only next time, you’ll know where to go.
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Choose Massage Therapy
Massage therapy is a good cure for tension headaches. These therapists know how to relieve pain in your back and neck, which are the main causes of these headaches in the first place. On top of that, massage therapy has been known to help people relax. Once the tension and anxiety are gone, your related headache will go away. Although some forms of health insurance won’t cover massage therapy, others will so make sure to inquire with your insurance company before you pay out of pocket for this therapy.
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Get Acupuncture
In the past, acupuncture was viewed as quackery. It involves placing needles into the skin at the pressure points in your body, which isn’t “quackery” at all. Instead, it’s an ancient Chinese practice that has been around for thousands of years for one reason alone – it works. All that you need to do is find a practitioner near you and explain to them that you have a tension headache that you’d like to get rid of. They will take care of the rest. And for the record, those needles don’t really hurt when they’re going in, because the practitioner knows what they are doing.
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Try Biofeedback
Biofeedback is an interesting form of therapy that involves getting hooked up to machines to monitor your brainwaves and the other electronic feedback produced by your body, like your heart rate and breath rate. Your practitioner will send you through a series of exercises and visualization, and your intent is to learn to control your body with your mind. Although it may take a few different sessions in order to triumph, in the end, you’ll be able to deal with your tension headaches just by going through those exercises on your own. This is a very useful therapy.
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