When your headaches are severe and recurring, they’re often referred to as migraines. Unlike your typical, run-of-the-mill headache, a migraine is usually accompanied by a host of other symptoms besides head pain, like extreme sensitivity to sound and light. Also unlike headaches, migraines don’t always dissipate on their own, and once you find relief, they usually come back before too long. Until you receive an accurate diagnosis and lasting relief, try these tips to find temporary reprieve from your migraine headaches.
Get a Massage
Migraines and headaches often result from tight, tense muscles in your neck, shoulders, and face. Receiving a massage every week or so will help keep relieve tension and ease your frequent symptoms, although you may have to continue receiving massages to keep the pain manageable.
Rub Your Temples
If you can’t make it to the masseuse, try rubbing your temples, located just in front of each ear. The temporomandibular joints (TMJs) that connect your lower jaw to your temples can become troublesome when tense or fatigued. Also, the nerve in your jaw is responsible for much of the sensory input from your craniofacial structures. Rubbing your temples will help your jaw’s joints, muscles, and nerves relax.
Stretch it Out
Stretching can help increase the elasticity of the muscles in your neck and shoulders, helping eliminate migraine-causing tension. Try tilting your chin back, then forward, and then towards each shoulder, holding each position for about five seconds and relaxing for five more. Make neck/shoulder stretching a part of your every routine to minimize future migraine occurrences.
Seek TMJ Treatment
Headaches and migraines are common symptoms of a jaw joint dysfunction. When your TMJs are damaged, exhausted, misaligned, or inflamed, they can result in one of several conditions known as TMJ disorders. Besides migraines, TMJ disorder can also manifest as difficulty with biting and chewing, habitual teeth grinding, and a host of other symptoms. Seeking an assessment and appropriate treatment for TMJ disorder can help your jaw joints heal and alleviate its many symptoms.
About Your Livonia Dentist:
As an experienced general dentist, Dr. James Stewart has helped many patients improve their dental health and quality of life by helping them diagnose and treat TMJ disorder. To learn more, or to find out if your chronic discomfort is related to troubled jaw joints, visit us as soon as possible.
James Steward, DDS, and our compassionate staff proudly serve patients of all ages from Livonia, Farmington Hills, Plymouth, Northville, Dearborn Heights, Garden City, and all surrounding communities. To schedule an appointment, call our office today at (734) 425-4400.