Headaches Be Gone: 10 Natural Remedies to Help Relieve Headaches
Headaches and Migraines! They affect 11 million of us Aussies each year, which is well a headache!! As tempting as reaching for the bottle of your go to painkiller may be why not try some natural alternatives to beat the beating in your brain?
Heat
This is great for tension type headaches; you know the ones that start in your neck and throb over your skull if you’re lucky all the way to your temples! Try placing the heat pack on the tight muscles in your neck or at the back of your head for some relief.
Cold
Now if you’re experiencing a migraine avoid using heat and try a cold pack or ice. This feels amazing when placed over your forehead or on the top of your head. You can make your own ice pack at home or on the go by placing some ice cubes in a damp chux or tea towel.
Self Massage
This feels good for most types of headaches. You can massage your shoulders, up your neck and into the base of your skull for those annoying headaches that throb from your base of skull over your head to behind your eyes. If headaches across your forehead are more bothersome for you try massaging your temples and then gently squeezing over your eyebrows, this is also great for headaches due to sinus issues. Another really great place to massage is over the top of your head along the centre of the scalp.
Relaxation
Now this doesn’t have to be a massive time consuming session. Simply finding a quiet room and doing deep breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth for 3-5 minutes can do wonders for promoting relaxation. It will also calm your nervous system if you’re feeling a bit wound up. If you do have the time to spare there are some wonderful free apps (my personal favourite is Smiling Mind) that do short or long guided meditations so you can slip into a deeper state of relaxation.
Hydration
Now we all know that water is the best way to hydrate your body and here at Bespoke Chiropractic we are always encouraging you to increase your water intake! You should aim for about 1.5 to 2 litres per day minimum. Now if you are exercising you will need to increase this. Also if you drink caffeinated or sugary beverages these actually dehydrate the body so you’ll need to increase you water intake to.
Magnesium
Interestingly low magnesium has been clinically related to an increased risk of migraines and that supplementing with magnesium has been shown to help both migraines and headaches. There are some great magnesium supplements on the market so if headaches or migraines are bothering you and you want to give magnesium a try don’t hesitate to contact myself or Dr Aimee at Bespoke Chiropractic so we can help find the supplement that is best for you.
Exercise
Keeping active is great for your general health but a large study, in excess of 92,000 people, found that those who were more active had fewer headaches as well. The great thing is that as little as 15 minutes a day has shown to have a benefit so don that Lycra and start moving!!
Sleep
All headache or migraine sufferers know that sleep or lack of it can definitely increase headache activity. In fact research has shown that people consistently getting less than 6 hours of sleep actually had a significantly increased risk of headaches compared to those who were getting more than 6 hours of sleep. Now your pre-bed routine will help. Try having dinner at least a couple of hours before going to bed, reduce any alcohol consumption (just one glass can make a significant difference to your sleep at night), make sure your room is as dark as possible and also a bit chilly or cold and try to reduce the amount of artificial light that can stimulate your brain into staying awake. If you do need to be on your phone or computer after dark there are some great apps that change your device to emit a red light once the sun goes down - for Apple it is https://justgetflux.com and for Android it’s https://twilight.urbandroid.org Also I’ve said it before… there is nothing wrong with an extra nap (or two) to catch up on sleep!
Stress
Whether physical, mental or emotional, stress can have a huge impact on headache and migraine sufferers. Finding something that you really enjoying doing and taking the time for yourself out of the hectic schedule of life to de-stress is so important. Something as simple as sitting down with a cup of tea outside or going for a short walk can make a huge difference.
Chiropractic adjustments
A 2011 study found that chiropractic care was really helpful for both migraine and cervicogenic headaches (the ones that start at the base of skull and throb over your head to your temple area). Each chiropractic adjustment builds on the previous one allowing improved motion and function of the spine.
So there you have it! Some options to try before reaching for those pain killers!
This is general advice only, if you need further information please talk to one of our Chiropractors or your general health professional.