Migraines

[XxDark (emo) AngelxX]

Hi,

Is anyone having any great success with treating long-term, chronic migraine sufferers that have actually been diagnosed as such - who are also on medication - with massage therapy and/or other healing modalities?

I just did a forum search for migraines and there wasn't a whole heck of a lot....much less than I expected. There were a couple interesting modalities though, like Indian head massage and facial massage/lymphatic drainage that I'm going to follow-up on.

Any thoughts would be appreciated, thanks!

 

[Eric_Lindros2003]

I have had some luck with migraine sufferers. Mostly with regular cervical work and stress reduction (on their part).

As someone who suffers from hormonal migraines, I know that sometimes massage (or anything else) doesn't help.

But it does seem to be related to what causes the migraine.

 

[tott1]

Thanks, Masthera.

The migraine sufferer is a woman. The migraines manifested after the birth of her first child (as did all of her sisters but not her mother). So this is going on 15 years of pain and suffering. They weren't diagnosed as migraines in the beginning, she was self-medicating for sinus headaches, etc. Anyway, over the years they have gotten worse. She is now taking three different kinds of meds, one is to keep her from vomiting.

After she told me when they started, I immediately thought they were related to her hormones somehow. She is not convinced however. I have had good luck treating her with energy work, as well as, therapeutic massage to her upper back, neck, and head. The massage is making a big difference in her daily stress level, loosening very tight muscles, and bringing body awareness.

She has never used massage as treatment. She has tried Acupuncture without ANY success which is hard for me to believe. But I do believe her. I have suggested Polarity treatments and craniosacral work as options, too. Also suggested that she do things that help her de-stress, whatever that may be for her. She is always on the go with 2 teenagers and their sports/academics - not so much time for herself.

Her occipitals are usually swollen, although at her last treatment there was a marked improvement. The massage has really helped with moving out the edema in that area too which in turn is pain relief. She comes to me twice per week, next week we're going to once per week.

Thanks again for the advice, I will continue as I've been doing and hope the regular cervical work will eventually do the trick. I want to add, too, that massage has been approved by her treating physician.

 

[Jac]

The migraines manifested after the birth of her first child (as did all of her sisters but not her mother). So this is going on 15 years of pain and suffering. They weren't diagnosed as migraines in the beginning, she was self-medicating for sinus headaches, etc. Anyway, over the years they have gotten worse. She is now taking three different kinds of meds, one is to keep her from vomiting.

From personal experience, my migraines got worse once I had my miscarriage. So there seems to be a hormonal link there and possibly with your client as well.

I was put on progesterone to help with my cycle, getting pregnant, PMS, and migraines and that has helped a lot.

With the chain of events, if she hasn't already, she might want to check in with her OB and get her hormones tested. Is she older and reluctant to deal with the hormonal changes that occur?

I get the neck pain, swelling of the levator, scalenes and occipitals, migraine, ect. I have done ice, heat, massage, chiropractic, stretching, topicals, pain meds, etc.
But with the progesterone medicine, it has gotten a lot better.

 

[phillies]

Her symptoms sound a lot like yours - I really appreciate you sharing your perspective. In addition to her occipitals, her levators play a key role, as well as her scalenes. I think she's going for Chiropractic adjustments semi-regularly, and does all of things you've mentioned.

Because of your personal experience, I am going to gently suggest for her to see her OB. I'm not sure why she's resistant to the idea of the migraines being linked to her hormones. The only thing I can think is that she doesn't feel it's that simple. Hormones aren't simple, lol :shock: .

"Is she older and reluctant to deal with the hormonal changes that occur?"
Not really, she is only 40. At the onset, the migraines started when she was 25.

Thanks again. Is it okay for me to share your experience with her?

 

[DayiTh!nkz Bill ist Sexxi]

Feel free to share my experience with her.

I am 28, if you feel that might be important for her to know.
Since she started at 25.

Hopefully she will at least go get checked out.
Good Luck!

 

[Alihaa]

I used to get a migraine every month just before I got my period. After I learned that the SCM could be a major contributor, I worked on it several times/wk or whenever I felt it tightening. I now start to get a migraine about twice/yr and I am usually successful at stopping them.

 

[only sunflower]

Feel free to share my experience with her.

I am 28, if you feel that might be important for her to know.
Since she started at 25.

Hopefully she will at least go get checked out.
Good Luck!

Thanks!

I used to get a migraine every month just before I got my period. After I learned that the SCM could be a major contributor, I worked on it several times/wk or whenever I felt it tightening. I now start to get a migraine about twice/yr and I am usually successful at stopping them.

Yes, she has SCM tightness too, especially at insertion on right side. Which yanks on the joint causing TMJ symptoms to boot. Do you work the whole muscle, and the attachment points regularly? Are you using any specific essential oils, lotions, or creams? I will suggest to her to do this at home for self-care. She would be willing to do this.

 

[ArmyWife&MommyToAiden]

I work the whole muscle and attachments. I use 3 fingers to strum or stroke across the belly. Same for the attachments using one finger, pausing to hold. I pincer-gripped both sides of the SCM and held at the tender spots and then moved with the tissue slightly up and down. This can be done with no oil or lotion. If you do use some, make sure it is very light, just enough to not rub-raw the skin. If I start a massage and use the regular amount of oil and then discover the SCM is screaming for help, I use a soft piece of material or the sheet to grip with.

 

[Frank.[=]

Thanks for the great techniques, jdcan - got a great visual! I was right there with you on that one, lol. I think maybe she can add a smidge of Arnica Montana or Sombra and not get too much slippage (slippage...not exactly a word...starting my own lingo).

 

[Chandru .]

Yeah, slippage!, exactly the word I was looking for. Good luck, etc. Keep us posted, please.

Oh, and my --migraines before period--lasted about 15 yrs; have been gone about 10!

 

[Crow T. Robot]

This is off topic, but I just wanted to reassure you MassageHound that slippage is indeed a word :wink:

 

[Spooky1]

Yeah, slippage!, exactly the word I was looking for. Good luck, etc. Keep us posted, please.

Oh, and my --migraines before period--lasted about 15 yrs; have been gone about 10!

LOL . Will keep you posted, thanks again.

This is off topic, but I just wanted to reassure you MassageHound that slippage is indeed a word

I just checked the dictionary and you're right! Slippage IS indeed a word!! : I'm not such the lingo-trailblazer that I thought!
P.S. I like your Avatar palpable.

 

[Jebediah S]

Update: migraines are still maintaining. She still hasn't gone to see her OB. I read somewhere recently that some migraines are connected to low back pain/problems. So, the last time I worked on her I concentrated on her low back and hip muscles, as well as illiopsoas. She does have intermittent problems with low back pain (does not inlcude glutes or piriformis though). Anyway, she got off the table feeling better than she has in a long time, and felt she had more energy - no pain with getting off table or putting pants on (according to her she is never able to put pants on without discomfort). So, we'll see if it had any effect on her migraines over the past week.

 

[spicerjoe]

Sounds like you're doing a great job helping your client get to the bottom of her migraine issue. I've suffered from them for over 25 years (why does it still startle me when I can throw "25 years ago" in a sentence and I wasn't in diapers?? lol) Mine have a few triggers. Hormones, artificial sweeteners and stress traditionally bring them on. Happy to review I haven't had a full blown migraine for a year as of next month. If you think your client's may be at least in part stress induced, biofeedback worked great for me. Here's the organization's page to locate a certified practitioner or discover more about it http://www.bcia.org. This still amazes me and was the first huge, flashing neon sign in my life indicating how intertwined mind/body/spirit are. I first experienced it before the BCIA was even formed. :shock: One of the perks about learning biofeedback and it having a positive effect on the migraines was feeling like I had a little control over my body again.

The other thing that over the years I have come to realize is... if I'm blowing something off that I need to deal with in my life, migraines have cropped up as a painful indicator that I need to pay attention and examine what is going on. For me, they've kind of been like the uncorking of the bottle where I stuff things. A bit out of our area as bodyworkers... just possible pertinent information.

I hate to admit this, but I only discovered that artificial sweeteners trigger mine a few years ago. Part of the reason it took so long is it wasn't on the usual list of ingestible suspects that doctors gave you to look through for migraine triggers. So everything is suspect as far as I'm concerned. A migraine diary can be invaluable here.

According to the blood panel that the doc did, my hormone levels were normal. That did not prevent me from getting a premenstrual migraine every stinking month though. That certainly does not mean that your client's hormones aren't out of kilter and I hope she will get it checked out. I think the final resolution to that for me has been seeing a chinese medicine practitioner. Some herbs to support the systems that were weakened and wow... I'm not missing the migraines!

Sheesh... does anyone know where I can get a verbosectomy? :

 

[Garlands]

migraines

I have had success treating patients with migraines in terms of decreasing frequency and intensity and therefore they are less dependant on the medications.... usually I work in tandem with a chiropractor and focus my treatment on neck and shouler region.
A little sidebar... being a migraine sufferer myself who had a sudden spike in frequency, my doctor put me on beta blockers even though my blood pressure was normal. They have discovered that a daily dose helps some patients prevent the migraines from occuring. I went from 3-4+ migraines a month to only 4 in the past year!!!!
That's a very good thing when considering they usually put me out of commission for about 2 days
Hope this can help.
KAT

 

[SwimIsAwesome =]]

Artificial sweetners will also set off a migraine for me too. It happens to all 3 of my brothers too. I stay away from them like they're the plague!

My husband on the other hand drinks at least 2 liters of diet coke a day and doesn't seem to have a problem.

I keep telling him that it'll rot his brain but he doesn't believe me.

 

[Dana]

Thanks very much, everyone, for the notes on artificial sweeteners, biofeedback, and beta blocker info. I will discuss all of these with her.

I worked on her yesterday, and it seems that the low back work made a significant difference. She hasn't had a full-blown migraine since I worked on her last week - so it has been 7 days without serious suffering, this is really something. Time will tell how this affects the migraines long-term. She is on vacation now, so I will see her again in 2 weeks.

I keep telling him that it'll rot his brain but he doesn't believe me.

:

 

[elijah F]

With the chain of events, if she hasn't already, she might want to check in with her OB and get her hormones tested.

She has finally gotten around to checking in with her OB. The OB has told her that there is no test for hormone levels...I find that "fact" very hard to believe. Although my client was told she could not be put on birth control at one point - because of her migraines and migraine meds - the OB has changed her mind and put my client on the pill (the patch).

The Neurologist has taken her off all of her meds (except for one) and wants her to check back in 5 weeks. Told her that Craniosacral work would be the best alternative treatment, so I've referred her to a very talented Shiatsu therapist that I know (who also practices craniosacral).

Out of everything that I've tried, in my bag of tricks, the low back work and Reiki is what seemed to be helping...just not enough. I personally feel that the meds had a lot do to with her healing, or lack of.

Is it true that there is no test for hormone levels??? :shock:

 

[Jessy]

"Is it true that there is no test for hormone levels??? :shock:

Your hormones fluctuate on a daily basis depending on where you are at in your cycle. Blood tests would only show what those hormone levels are for the day that the test is done and therefore wouldn't give an entire picture. At the beginning of your cycle you have a sharp drop in progesterone which signals your period to begin. Over the next 2 weeks (approximately) your estrogen levels will rise along with several other hormones. LH (lutentizing hormone) will surge on about day 14 which causes ovulation. Ovulation causes progesterone production to begin again and estrogen levels to drop suddenly.

Normally what they do to determine if headaches are hormonal in cause is ask that the person keep a headache diary. If the headaches are occuring at the same time in the cycle every month, then they are considered to be hormonal.

Usually what causes the headaches is the sudden rise or drop in one of the hormones which occurs naturally. Birth control pills eliminate those drops/surges by keeping you on a continuous dose of estrogen/progesterone.

Hopes this helps,
Angie