Massage therapy is well known for easing muscle tension, improving circulation, and reducing pain. But can it help the symptoms of a migraine attack? In some cases, the answer is yes.

“I’m headache-free after a neck massage,” one MyMigraineTeam member said. Another said, “I had a massage, and it’s the first time in five days that I have had relief for more than 10 minutes.”

Many people with migraine incorporate complementary therapies, such as nerve stimulators, acupuncture, and cold caps, into their overall treatment plan. If your neurologist agrees, you may use these alongside conventional drug therapies. These lifestyle adjustments for migraine may help reduce pain and improve your quality of life.

Understanding the basics of massage therapy and how it can relieve migraine symptoms may open the door to a treatment you haven’t previously considered. That said, massage isn’t right for everyone. Ask your neurology team for medical advice before you add regular massage appointments to your calendar.

What Is Massage Therapy?

Massage therapy is a common form of bodywork that has been used to alleviate tension, relax muscles, provide pain relief, and reduce stress for thousands of years.

It involves kneading or rubbing soft tissues in your body. Using different techniques and levels of pressure may help ease pain and improve quality of life so you can get back to doing the activities you enjoy.

Massage for Migraine

Massage therapy won’t cure migraine and shouldn’t be used as a primary treatment for the condition. However, it can provide many physical, functional, and emotional benefits to people with migraine. As one MyMigraineTeam member shared, “Massage rocks. It’s helped me sleep when I otherwise couldn’t without a pain prescription.”

Massage therapy has been shown to reduce the intensity, duration, and frequency of migraine attacks in some people. Massage techniques that focus on your neck, shoulders, and head may help you find relief from migraine symptoms. One small study of 47 people living with migraine showed that weekly massages led to better sleep quality, reduced anxiety, and fewer migraine attacks.

Migraine triggers vary from one person to the next. But for people whose migraine attacks are triggered by stress, sleep issues, or physical exertion, massage therapy can help treat the trigger. For instance, you may feel less stressed after a massage, or it could help you sleep better. Reducing your stress levels or sleeping more soundly may help prevent a migraine attack from coming on.

Migraine Massage Techniques

If you’re experiencing migraine headaches or other symptoms of migraine, a massage could help release tension, improve your well-being, and hopefully provide relief.

The specific type of massage that helps you may depend on the type of headache pain or other symptoms you’re having. The following are a few techniques that you might consider.

1. Trigger Point Therapy

If you have what feels like knots under your skin (especially in your shoulders, neck, or head), massaging trigger points — specific spots in your muscles — may provide migraine relief. That’s because applying gentle pressure along those trigger points relaxes the muscles that are tensing up. By releasing the muscle stress, you may find that you’re able to improve migraine pain, especially if you feel muscle tension during a migraine attack.

During trigger point therapy, the massage therapist will use their fingers to press on the knot in your muscle. This pressure may be applied for 30 to 90 seconds as they feel for a change in the knot. This type of massage may not feel relaxing and may even hurt for a short period. It’s important for a licensed massage therapist to perform trigger point therapy. They’ll know exactly how much pressure to apply and when to let up. Anyone who presses too hard on the trigger point could put you at risk of a migraine attack.

2. Myofascial Release Therapy

In some cases, the tension in your soft tissue isn’t in the muscle but in the fascia. This is the connective tissue around your muscles. Massage to your fascia, called myofascial release, allows you to release the tension in these tissues. This can then help provide migraine headache relief.

Myofascial release is closely related to trigger point therapy. During a myofascial release massage session, the therapist will use gentle pressure while rolling their hands over the affected fascia to release tension. For this reason, it’s important to seek care from a licensed massage therapist so you don’t risk causing pain or triggering a migraine attack by doing it incorrectly.

3. Deep Tissue Massage

Deep tissue massage is a technique that allows the massage therapist to address deeper muscle tissues. They do this by applying slow strokes and firm pressure to your skin. By targeting the knots deep in the layers of fascia and muscle, deep tissue massage can release chronic tension. This may help boost blood flow and allow you to experience fewer migraine attacks.

The massage therapist will use their thumbs or the knuckles of their fingers to penetrate the deep tissue layers. They may massage your head, face, or other areas, depending on where your pain lies.

“I had a headache (pain level was about a six) and got a deep tissue massage, which was fabulous,” one MyMigraineTeam member said. Another member replied, “I love deep tissue massages.”

Deep tissue massage may be something you can practice at home, but talk to your massage therapist first. They’ll advise you on whether it’s safe to perform these techniques on your own or not.

4. Shiatsu

Shiatsu is a Japanese bodywork practice that uses kneading, tapping, pressing, stretching, and soothing techniques. It may help reduce muscle stiffness, alleviate anxiety, and address pain in areas like your neck and joints. One study found that people with primary headache symptoms required fewer painkillers by using shiatsu alone or along with a specific headache medication in comparison to those who only took medication without shiatsu.

During a shiatsu session for someone with migraine, the massage therapist will apply gentle pressure to specific points in the head and neck while also stretching the neck. Shiatsu uses some of the same strategies as another type of therapy called acupressure. They both focus on addressing pressure points to relieve migraine.

While it’s recommended that you see a licensed massage therapist for shiatsu, some people find they can relieve migraine symptoms by practicing shiatsu techniques at home. For instance, if you’re experiencing migraine pain in your forehead, you might focus on the area just above your eyebrow. Using the middle and index fingers of both hands, gently press on your skin using circular motions for about 30 seconds at a time. Talk to a licensed massage therapist about whether at-home shiatsu might be safe for you.

5. Craniosacral Therapy

During craniosacral therapy, the massage therapist gently manipulates the tissues in your spine and skull. This allows you to improve movement and release any tension you’re holding. Studies have shown that craniosacral therapy is an effective treatment that may reduce pain and lower the frequency of migraine attacks.

“I’ve tried craniosacral therapy, and it does help,” one MyMigraineTeam member said. Another member said they couldn’t find a craniosacral massage therapist, but they noted that getting a head massage for migraine helped their symptoms.

If you’re interested in having this type of therapy, ask your neurologist for a referral to a massage therapist. If the therapist thinks it would be safe for you to perform craniosacral therapy at home, they’ll share the most effective techniques with you.

How To Prepare for Your Massage Therapy Appointment

There are a few steps you should take to prepare for a massage therapy appointment, especially if you’ve never experienced one before.

Talk to Your Doctor

Always speak with your healthcare team about your specific migraine symptoms. Your neurologist can help you evaluate the migraine treatment options that might work best for you. They’ll also be able to refer you to a licensed massage therapist who specializes in migraine. This is important because some types of therapeutic massage may make migraine symptoms worse if they’re not performed correctly.

Speak With Your Massage Therapist

Any bodywork professional you consult will need to know about your migraine diagnosis. Once informed, they can apply techniques that are known to help people with the condition and focus on the areas you need to be addressed.

Tell them about any areas you want them to avoid, too — massage therapy should never cause lasting or severe pain. Also, ask whether self-massage for migraine may be something you can practice safely at home. If so, they can share migraine self-massage techniques that you can do in between your appointments or when symptoms strike.

Find Your Team

MyMigraineTeam is the social network for people living with migraine. On MyMigraineTeam, more than 85,000 members come together to ask questions, give advice, and share their stories with others who understand life with migraine.

Have you tried massage therapy for your migraine symptoms? Share your experience in the comments below, or start a conversation by posting on your Activities page.