Treating Your Headaches with Massage Therapy

Even people who only get headaches once in a while find them annoying. But if you’re plagued by persistent head pain, you’ve probably looked into your options for relief. The good news is there are a lot of choices out there. The bad news is not all treatments work for all people.

Fortunately, Dr. Halina Snowball can help. At our Integrated Pain Solutions office in Stamford, Connecticut, she applies her specialization in headaches to personalize a treatment plan for you. In some cases, especially for people with migraines, she recommends including massage therapy.

Let’s take a look at why. 

What massage therapy can do for your headaches

Medical research has only scratched the surface on massage as a treatment for headaches, but early findings show a lot of promise. Recent studies have linked massage therapy with:

• Reduced migraine pain
• More headache-free days
• Better sleep
• Less stress

The American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) also says that massage can help with recurrent tension headaches.

There are several different types of therapeutic massage, and different types work better for different types of headaches. Tension headaches generally respond well to massage therapy focused on myofascial and trigger point release, for example. Dr. Snowball specializes in this type of massage. 

No matter which type of massage Dr. Snowball recommends, you can rest easy. This treatment option comes with little to no risk of adverse side effects. 

All told, if you’re living with persistent headaches, massage therapy may be able to help. Talk with Dr. Snowball about your symptoms so she can tailor a care protocol for you. 

A personalized treatment plan for your headaches

For most people, Dr. Snowball recommends massage therapy as one component of a holistic treatment plan. She might blend your customized massage with:

• Stress management techniques
• Pain medications
• Electrical and magnetic pulse technologies
• Relaxation and biofeedback 
• Acupuncture
• Injection-based treatment, like trigger point injections or nerve blocks

Additionally, Dr. Snowball works with you to make sure the choices you make each day aren’t contributing to your headaches. Sufficient water intake and better nutrition can help reduce the frequency and intensity of your headaches, for example. 

If you live with more than 15 migraines every month, Dr. Snowball can also explore Botox® migraine treatment with you. Paired with massage therapy or alone, this can help bring you significant relief. 

Ultimately, Dr. Snowball’s goal is to craft a highly effective treatment plan using treatments with minimal side effects. 

Don’t suffer through your headaches. To see if massage therapy could ease your persistent head pain, call our office at 203-293-0549 or request an appointment online today.