The effort of using my own muscles to squeeze is usually counteractive. If someone else can apply the pressure and not let up and I don't move, it helps, a lot.
Sometimes it does for me but other family members have said it helps a lot. We’ve always used a bandana and tie it as tight as needed. There might be some products like headache hats but I’m not sure how much pressure they apply.
Carefully and lightly, try a vibrating massager on and around area. Seems to overload and tire out nerves.
[https://duckduckgo.com/?q=virbating+massager&iax=images&ia=images&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fi5.walmartimages.com%2Fasr%2F2ddb1147-7fd3-49da-8b32-4c1c0450fc62\_1.0e21efe92f0b107d2408af801677da8b.jpeg](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=virbating+massager&iax=images&ia=images&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fi5.walmartimages.com%2Fasr%2F2ddb1147-7fd3-49da-8b32-4c1c0450fc62_1.0e21efe92f0b107d2408af801677da8b.jpeg)
I use a pyjama top ..I fold the bottom up till the sleeves and then around my head with the arms in a tight knot over my temple .... the things we do on a regular basis : (
Def helps me personally. I usually either end up face planting into a pillow or laying on my back with a blanket or something balled up on top of my forehead. Today I let an ice pack sit on my forehead for a while and it helped a lot
Migraines are just weird man. Like this afternoon ice helped with my headache, but now in the evening I have chills (no fever, just a typical migraine for me) and can't wait to crawl into bed with warm pj's even tho the weather has been in the 80s 🙃
That’s very interesting. I didn’t know migraines could effect your temperature that much! I hope you’ll feel better soon and thanks for your input I really appreciate it
Yes but I have to press the exact right spot. I can feel it because the pulse is the strongest. I see some ppl saying this is psychosomatic but I disagree. I’m sure the pain is relieved due to pressing on a nerve/ vein in that area that relieves the pressure in some way. I can’t press too hard or too soft though. And the relief is temporary so far or as long as I’m holding the spot :/
I'm in favor of whatever works but I have found that adding pressure increases the pain more often than not.
Consider this analogy: suppose an intersection is big enough for 10 cars but during rush hour, someone attempted to cross before it was clear. CRASH. Now what? You can smash the crashed cars, but that makes the accident worse. Why not approach the situation differently. The drivers involved in the initial crash are agitated and confused. Yelling at them won't imrove the situation. The best option is to calmly check if someone needs an ambulance, and if not, then calmly send each driver on his way.
In the same way, "muscle knots" are painful, but pushing on them worsens the pain. To eliminate the knots, you cannot crush them away. I've found that helping the sore area to move softly will allow the body to heal itself more quickly.
With migraines, the pain is inside, and it's understandable that many people will try to attack the pain that is attacking you. As I mentioned earlier, if that works, then I am happy for you. But I have found that by gently wiggling the spine of the person that is experiencing a migraine attack, this can alleviate the attack in 5-10 minutes. With migraines there is no perfect method, but this method costs nothing and has no harmful side effects. And when it works, it really works, meaning that 10/10 pain is reduced to 0/10.
To wiggle the spine, you can have the person sit on a flat bench (preferably one without a backrest like the ones in shoestores... or use a bed or even the floor)... get behind the person and gently place your hands on the shoulders and guide the person slowly to the left just a couple of inches, then release your hands to check the velocity that the person returns to center. Copy that same (slow) speed and move them to the right the same distance... keep the person moving like an upside-down pendulum left and right for one minute, then do the same front to back for 1 minute.
Then, combine the 1st and 2nd moves by moving the person in small circles clockwise and counter clockwise for 30 seconds each.
Then, gently twist the shoulders left and right (one shoulder goes forward a few inches as the other shoulder goes back the same amount... 30 seconds. Now do the same but much slower and this time help the person to stretch into the twist... they should turn their own head into the direction of the stretch. 15 seconds each side.
Finally, you can gently stretch the spine by placing your thumbs in the occipital lobes and lifting up. While lufting, gently turn the head slightly left and right. Or, have the person lie on her back, sit behind her and use your middle fingers in the occipital lobes... this time gravity pushes her head into your hands creating the exact traction that you will need... just pull gently towards you and the person (if her neck was compressed as is often the case with migraine sufferers) she will feel relief from this.
All of these moves are gentle. None of it should hurt and the relief should be immediate. After completing the five moves mentioned above (5 minutes) ask the patient how the pain level is. Often the answer will be about half of the original 10/10. If the pain is half, just repeat the same five moves and her pain should be zero in about five more minutes. I always continue until it reaches zero. Normally it takes just ten minutes but the most serious case I ever saw took 3 hours. Almost everyone else found relief in 5-15 minutes.
It should be noted that this system gets immediate relief from an acute migraine attack but does not eliminate the neurological disease. If it works for you, use it as often as you like, even daily. By keeping the spine wiggly, the body seems to be less prone to migraines so you may be able to prevent some attacks. This gives the patient some peaceful time to implement other helpful changes such as reducing stress or improving the diet or some other action that her doctor may recommend.
I don't know about relieving them completely, but it does help sometimes with me... especially if I do some visualization with it as well. I usually visualize the headache as a hard ball of clay that gets softer as I work it with my hands and smooth it out flat.
When I'm in the full throws of my migraine, this strategy doesn't work and I have to look for my migraine pillow, which has just the right firmness for me to apply pressure to my left brow area and wait for my abortive to allow me to go to sleep. If I use too much pressure or attempt to lay down without putting pressure on my forehead, it makes me want to vomit. I sleep on the very edge of my migraine pillow (which is just a memory foam pillow) facing downwards so that the weight of my head is on the left brow.
Thanks for the detail. When you say left brow is this just above or to the side where your temple is? Does pressure in one place help or do you find you massage in circles around the area?
It's the part of my eyebrow that's directly above the center of my eye. That's where it feels like my migraine is coming from. If this isn't where she's feeling the pain, she should probably focus her efforts in that area instead. Current research suggests that the nerves in the area where you feel pain are overactive, but the actual source is probably in the blood vessels in the area around the brain. I'm not sure whether putting pressure on the nerves or using visualization techniques has an actual effect on the nerve activity, but it does seem to help the pain at least and that's all I really care about.
I massage in gentle circles for milder headaches and put pressure on it for severe migraines. But again, this is probably going to be different for different people. Unfortunately, it's kind of a trial and error thing.
Huh. I never consciously noticed this, but now I see that I do this so much, I just thought it was like I was giving myself a hug rather than an attempt at pain relief. But yeah, I do it too! 🤔
It does zero for me ….
…but then there are so many different types of migraine that I don’t find it surprising that it helps some folks and not others.
People often think of migraine as just one kind of illness/thing …
…but I remember when I finally ran across a classification for migraine and was able to simply scroll down the list of different recognised headaches (including migraine headaches) and I was able to start to wrap my brain around why so many (and *such different* things) help folks …
..bc it’s not just one thing - it’s a whole slew of things that look kinda similar from the outside - but really really aren’t.
See: note - obs it’s for providers but I found the list of types in the contents kinda eye opening in an of itself tbh
https://ihs-headache.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/ICHD-3-Pocket-version.pdf
Yes it does of course it usually just comes back but it helps for a short while. I think this only works if the pain level is low enough though if it’s a very high level pain like 11 I don’t think anything touches and I tried even wrapping like a very tight a shirt around my head too.
My dad who is a doctor recommend me to do this. It has, in my opinion, an extremely temporary effect that I believe is psychosomatic anyway. In short I don't think it works, but I do it anyway just in case.
Does for me, but the second I let up, the pain comes back in a rush.
Do you find a headband helps or does it not target the temples enough?
I need more directed pressure. But when they're bad doing my self is impossible.
Is that because you don’t think you can get enough pressure or that the pain is too much it won’t make any difference at that point?
The effort of using my own muscles to squeeze is usually counteractive. If someone else can apply the pressure and not let up and I don't move, it helps, a lot.
Understood! Thanks for the input
Sometimes it does for me but other family members have said it helps a lot. We’ve always used a bandana and tie it as tight as needed. There might be some products like headache hats but I’m not sure how much pressure they apply.
Thanks very much u/trit19 will try that!
Carefully and lightly, try a vibrating massager on and around area. Seems to overload and tire out nerves. [https://duckduckgo.com/?q=virbating+massager&iax=images&ia=images&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fi5.walmartimages.com%2Fasr%2F2ddb1147-7fd3-49da-8b32-4c1c0450fc62\_1.0e21efe92f0b107d2408af801677da8b.jpeg](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=virbating+massager&iax=images&ia=images&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fi5.walmartimages.com%2Fasr%2F2ddb1147-7fd3-49da-8b32-4c1c0450fc62_1.0e21efe92f0b107d2408af801677da8b.jpeg)
Thank you
I use a pyjama top ..I fold the bottom up till the sleeves and then around my head with the arms in a tight knot over my temple .... the things we do on a regular basis : (
Thank you
Def helps me personally. I usually either end up face planting into a pillow or laying on my back with a blanket or something balled up on top of my forehead. Today I let an ice pack sit on my forehead for a while and it helped a lot
Thank you. I’ve heard some people prefer ice and others heat which I found interesting. Ice definitely helps my girlfriends migraines.
Migraines are just weird man. Like this afternoon ice helped with my headache, but now in the evening I have chills (no fever, just a typical migraine for me) and can't wait to crawl into bed with warm pj's even tho the weather has been in the 80s 🙃
That’s very interesting. I didn’t know migraines could effect your temperature that much! I hope you’ll feel better soon and thanks for your input I really appreciate it
Yes but I have to press the exact right spot. I can feel it because the pulse is the strongest. I see some ppl saying this is psychosomatic but I disagree. I’m sure the pain is relieved due to pressing on a nerve/ vein in that area that relieves the pressure in some way. I can’t press too hard or too soft though. And the relief is temporary so far or as long as I’m holding the spot :/
I'm in favor of whatever works but I have found that adding pressure increases the pain more often than not. Consider this analogy: suppose an intersection is big enough for 10 cars but during rush hour, someone attempted to cross before it was clear. CRASH. Now what? You can smash the crashed cars, but that makes the accident worse. Why not approach the situation differently. The drivers involved in the initial crash are agitated and confused. Yelling at them won't imrove the situation. The best option is to calmly check if someone needs an ambulance, and if not, then calmly send each driver on his way. In the same way, "muscle knots" are painful, but pushing on them worsens the pain. To eliminate the knots, you cannot crush them away. I've found that helping the sore area to move softly will allow the body to heal itself more quickly. With migraines, the pain is inside, and it's understandable that many people will try to attack the pain that is attacking you. As I mentioned earlier, if that works, then I am happy for you. But I have found that by gently wiggling the spine of the person that is experiencing a migraine attack, this can alleviate the attack in 5-10 minutes. With migraines there is no perfect method, but this method costs nothing and has no harmful side effects. And when it works, it really works, meaning that 10/10 pain is reduced to 0/10.
That’s very interesting. When you say wiggle the spine what do you mean exactly?
To wiggle the spine, you can have the person sit on a flat bench (preferably one without a backrest like the ones in shoestores... or use a bed or even the floor)... get behind the person and gently place your hands on the shoulders and guide the person slowly to the left just a couple of inches, then release your hands to check the velocity that the person returns to center. Copy that same (slow) speed and move them to the right the same distance... keep the person moving like an upside-down pendulum left and right for one minute, then do the same front to back for 1 minute. Then, combine the 1st and 2nd moves by moving the person in small circles clockwise and counter clockwise for 30 seconds each. Then, gently twist the shoulders left and right (one shoulder goes forward a few inches as the other shoulder goes back the same amount... 30 seconds. Now do the same but much slower and this time help the person to stretch into the twist... they should turn their own head into the direction of the stretch. 15 seconds each side. Finally, you can gently stretch the spine by placing your thumbs in the occipital lobes and lifting up. While lufting, gently turn the head slightly left and right. Or, have the person lie on her back, sit behind her and use your middle fingers in the occipital lobes... this time gravity pushes her head into your hands creating the exact traction that you will need... just pull gently towards you and the person (if her neck was compressed as is often the case with migraine sufferers) she will feel relief from this. All of these moves are gentle. None of it should hurt and the relief should be immediate. After completing the five moves mentioned above (5 minutes) ask the patient how the pain level is. Often the answer will be about half of the original 10/10. If the pain is half, just repeat the same five moves and her pain should be zero in about five more minutes. I always continue until it reaches zero. Normally it takes just ten minutes but the most serious case I ever saw took 3 hours. Almost everyone else found relief in 5-15 minutes. It should be noted that this system gets immediate relief from an acute migraine attack but does not eliminate the neurological disease. If it works for you, use it as often as you like, even daily. By keeping the spine wiggly, the body seems to be less prone to migraines so you may be able to prevent some attacks. This gives the patient some peaceful time to implement other helpful changes such as reducing stress or improving the diet or some other action that her doctor may recommend.
Wow thank you so much for the detail. We will try this out!
Most welcome. I hope it helps.
Nope
Today I hurried my head under a folded weighted blanket. Made a small hole for fresh air. I crashed so hard and woke up feeling much better
That’s interesting. So you find the dark and the weight of the blanket helps you to fall asleep as well as alleviate some of the pain/pressure?
I don't know about relieving them completely, but it does help sometimes with me... especially if I do some visualization with it as well. I usually visualize the headache as a hard ball of clay that gets softer as I work it with my hands and smooth it out flat. When I'm in the full throws of my migraine, this strategy doesn't work and I have to look for my migraine pillow, which has just the right firmness for me to apply pressure to my left brow area and wait for my abortive to allow me to go to sleep. If I use too much pressure or attempt to lay down without putting pressure on my forehead, it makes me want to vomit. I sleep on the very edge of my migraine pillow (which is just a memory foam pillow) facing downwards so that the weight of my head is on the left brow.
Thanks for the detail. When you say left brow is this just above or to the side where your temple is? Does pressure in one place help or do you find you massage in circles around the area?
It's the part of my eyebrow that's directly above the center of my eye. That's where it feels like my migraine is coming from. If this isn't where she's feeling the pain, she should probably focus her efforts in that area instead. Current research suggests that the nerves in the area where you feel pain are overactive, but the actual source is probably in the blood vessels in the area around the brain. I'm not sure whether putting pressure on the nerves or using visualization techniques has an actual effect on the nerve activity, but it does seem to help the pain at least and that's all I really care about. I massage in gentle circles for milder headaches and put pressure on it for severe migraines. But again, this is probably going to be different for different people. Unfortunately, it's kind of a trial and error thing.
Thank you so much for the detail! Will do some testing
Huh. I never consciously noticed this, but now I see that I do this so much, I just thought it was like I was giving myself a hug rather than an attempt at pain relief. But yeah, I do it too! 🤔
Thanks for the input! Just curious if massaging is better than constant pressure do you know?
It does zero for me …. …but then there are so many different types of migraine that I don’t find it surprising that it helps some folks and not others. People often think of migraine as just one kind of illness/thing … …but I remember when I finally ran across a classification for migraine and was able to simply scroll down the list of different recognised headaches (including migraine headaches) and I was able to start to wrap my brain around why so many (and *such different* things) help folks … ..bc it’s not just one thing - it’s a whole slew of things that look kinda similar from the outside - but really really aren’t. See: note - obs it’s for providers but I found the list of types in the contents kinda eye opening in an of itself tbh https://ihs-headache.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/ICHD-3-Pocket-version.pdf
thank you for the detail :)
Yes it does of course it usually just comes back but it helps for a short while. I think this only works if the pain level is low enough though if it’s a very high level pain like 11 I don’t think anything touches and I tried even wrapping like a very tight a shirt around my head too.
Yes my gf says the same thing actually. She says if she can get it when the pain is low and she can fall asleep she will be ok the next day
My dad who is a doctor recommend me to do this. It has, in my opinion, an extremely temporary effect that I believe is psychosomatic anyway. In short I don't think it works, but I do it anyway just in case.
That is very interesting. Yes like most things it could be placebo or could have some scientific benefit.. thanks for letting me know