Acupressure for Headaches

The most obvious place to begin your exploration of acupressure is in the office of a certified practitioner of acupressure or acupuncture. But, other skilled health professionals also practice acupressure, including most massage therapists and some physical therapists. Eventually you can learn to perform acupressure on yourself, but it’s best to begin with a professional.

During a session, you’ll lie on a padded table or a mat on the floor, and the acupressurist will use fingers, thumbs, elbows, and palms to apply pressure to various acupoints. But acupressure involves more than just pressure. Rolling, kneading, vibrating, and rotating motions are also used, and the process may involve the use of wooden rollers, balls, pointers, or other tools. All of these methods are designed to break up energy blockages and restore the flow of qi. So if qi blockages are the cause of your headaches, acupressure should help reduce your pain.

There’s nothing like a session with a skilled professional, but once you’ve had some sessions with an expert, you can learn to self-treat. The basic principles are simple:

• Apply pressure smoothly and gradually. Don’t bear down as if you’re trying to drive a nail into the acupoint, and don’t jab. Exert a firm, steady pressure.
• Press with enough force to produce a “good hurt,” a twinge that tells you something is happening, but not real pain.
• Maintain the pressure while making a circular motion on the point for 1 to 3 minutes, then release.
• Breathe deeply and rhythmically during the sessions.

Headaches can arise from blockages in many different areas, including the liver, stomach, gallbladder, or bladder meridians. You’ll need to see a professional to find out where your blockages occur and which acupoints to press. But there are several general acupoints that are used to relieve headaches:

• The soft, fleshy area between the base of the thumb and the bottom of the index finger -Some people report that this area becomes tender when they’re in the throes of a headache, so don’t be surprised if you feel pain there when you start pressing.
• The area between the eyes where the top of nose meets the forehead -Pressing on both sides of the bridge of the nose may help with a headache that strikes in the front of the head or the sinuses.
• The notch of the collarbone (the U-shaped indentation at the base of the front of your neck) -Press on the “inside” (bottom) of the bone.
• Midway between the outside of the eye and the ear -Pressing on the bone in that area can help ease headaches that strike on the side of the head.
• Right above the ear -Pressing above one ear can ease headaches that strike on that side of the head only.
• In the tender point in your shoulder (trapezoid) muscles - You’ll know it when you find the area (yeeouch!). This is helpful for headaches that strike in the back of the head.
• The point between the big toe and the second toe, about an inch back from the base of the toes - This is a good spot to press for migraines.

You can perform acupressure on yourself when your headaches begin, or do it every day to help prevent them. If you feel significant pain during acupressure, stop and find out why. It shouldn’t hurt that much. By the way, you may feel pain somewhere else while you’re pressing on one spot. This referred pain suggests that you have a related problem in the second area, which may also need treatment.