Did you know that a tension headache is the most common type of headache? It can cause mild, moderate, or intense pain behind your eyes and in your head and neck.
Tension headaches occur when neck and scalp muscles become tense or contract. The muscle contractions can be a response to stress, depression, anxiety, lack of sleep or poor posture (all common postpartum 👩🏼🍼).
Massage can help! 💆🏻♀️
Massage will help ease stress and release tight muscles. During a massage for a tension headache, the therapist will focus your shoulders, neck, head, and jaw.
Here is a little demo on how to give yourself a little massage to help ease a tension headache.
Prepare as follows:
1) Take several deep breaths.
2) Relax your shoulders, dropping them away from your ears.
2) Relax your jaw and forehead.
BREATHE!
You're doing good! Maybe you can already feel the tension already beginning to melt away. This right here is your homework! Throughout the day, become aware of when you are tensing up. Relax your shoulders, jaw, forehead, then add a dash of deep breathing and BOOM. I guarantee the frequency in which you experience tension headaches will lessen.
Self Massage for a Tension Headache:
3) Begin with your fingers at the top of your cheek bones. Apply firm pressure and drag your fingers towards the top of your head. Tip: this is easier when your hair is down!
4) Place your fingers where your ears attach to your head. Apply pressure to these points, then like the stroke before this drag your fingers towards the top of your head.
5) Now to massage the jaw, place your fingers under your cheek bones close to your ears. Apply a firm pressure and drag down towards your chin. Release your jaw and take a deep breathe.
6) Apply pressure to the point at the top of your head. This point is good for depression. Apply pressure for 20 seconds at a time for about 2 minutes.
Hope these help!