Shrunken Head Syndrome
Shrunken Head Syndrome
By Shane Sauer
Last week you were introduced to a number of solutions for fixing your head. Today, you’ll get a deeper look at one of those suggestions: massage therapy.
Massage is an effective (and highly enjoyable!) way to reduce general stress. This alone can help relieve tension headaches. But massage also gets right to the root of many headaches – tight muscles.
Stiffness, chronic weakness, and trigger points in the muscles of your upper back, neck, and head can all cause tension headaches. The suboccipital muscles - tiny muscles located at the very base of your skull - are common culprits. This is often due to chronically poor posture. Poor posture while working at a computer cramps and shortens these suboccipital muscles. Looking down at a cell phone over-stretches them.
The tighter these muscles become, the more they pull on the surrounding musculature and fascia, causing that feeling of intense pressure all around your head.
Tension or inflammation in the suboccipitals and other muscles can impinge nerves that cause the debilitating pain of a migraine.
Triggers points – those little spots that are super tender when touched – in these muscles refer pain and tightness to other areas of your neck and head. Often, the referred pain will be felt directly behind an eye. This stabbing, throbbing, sharp pain, is one type of migraine.
Self-massage of the trigger points in the suboccipitals can help relieve and prevent headaches. Place the pads of your index or middle fingers on your suboccipital trigger points (see picture above). Gently press for 5-10 seconds then release. Do this two or three more times. Then, gently rub in small, circular motions all along the base of your skull for a few moments.
Better yet, a massage therapist knows which specific muscles are likely to cause tension headaches and the appropriate techniques to relax them.
Next time there’s so much pressure in your head you feel like someone is turning you into one of those shrunken heads, send us a message to see if a massage could help!