In this video, I'm going to show you how to get rid of a
headache in seconds. Stay tuned.
Hey, everyone. Doctor Rowe coming to you from SpineCare in
Saint Joseph, Michigan. In this video, I'm going to go over
exercises that can give instant headache pain relief even
within seconds. Each one of these exercises, they work just
a little bit differently. So, to get the best results, go
through them all and use what gives you the most relief.
Let's get started. So, here's my go-to when I'm dealing with
a sinus headache especially issues across the forehead
right here into the frontal sinuses and this one may
quickly help unclog a stuffy nose. It's really easy to do
and you can do this one standing or seated. Take a
thumb. Whatever side that you're on, let's say it's my
left side right here. I'm going to place it right on the
outside of my nose. Slide upwards until you hit the top
part of the nose and you're in the corner of the eye socket.
You want to press in there where it's going to be a good
self massage but not causing any discomfort and if you do
have long nails, definitely use caution with this one. Take
your thumb on the other side and place it right at the base
of the skull. What we're trying to focus on are these small
muscles called suboccipital muscles, a hot spot of tension
and stress that can cause a lot of headaches going upwards just
like this. So, I just like to take my thumb and roll over
that area until I find a pinpoint spot of tightness and
achiness. Once I find that, I'm going to press in there with my
thumb. Again, just enough for a self massage. We're going to
press in at the same time for about 15 seconds. Just kind of
relax into this one too. Do nice, slow controled breathing.
The more tension that you release, the better the result.
So, from there, I just relax and repeat this one three to
five times and with each repetition, try to build into
it just a little bit more and you can also experiment by
going over different spots like let's say that you have
multiple spots right here. Switch it up and target any
spot on those subluxipital muscles that you feel needed.
You can also take this one to the next level by doing a nice
circular motion with your thumbs at the same time and
this one feels really, really good. So, give all those a try
and when you're done on one side, switch to the other to
keep them both in balance but when I do this one too, if I do
have a lot of nasal congestion, it just helps open it up and
it's like Niagara Falls, it just opens up and my nasal
passage just drains right out. So, it's something that you can
do throughout the day and I do hope it helps. So, this
exercise is going to be really good if you feel like your
headache is being caused by tightness and tension right
here at the top part of the neck and then going off towards the
side of the head. It's a three-part movement. It's very
easy to do and this one you can do pretty much anywhere
standing or seated. I'm going to start off by focusing on the
top part of the neck. Take two fingers, make hooks with them,
and then go right at the base of the skull. We're going to
focus on those sub occipital muscles to begin with. So, just
take your fingers right here and really explore the side of
the neck right here, the top part until you find a really
big tender spot. What we want to do with at that point is press
in with our fingers and then do a light circular massage for
about 10 to 15 seconds. For a lot of people, this right here
will knock that tension out very quickly and you can get
headache relief within seconds but if you need to take this
one to the next level, what you do is while you do that
massage, press back with your head right here. So, I'm
kind of like taking my chin backward into my fingers right
here and it will help intensify that self massage. Go lightly
with it only to your comfort level but do this for about
fifteen seconds. Relax, and you can repeat this three to five
times. If you feel like you need to take it even to the
next level, what you can do is press back into it and then
look upward towards the ceiling. This will really help
activate those sub occipital muscles making them very very
tender. So, give that one a try and if it offers more relief,
definitely go with it. Three to five repetitions. Next, let's
focus on a fan-shaped muscle called the temporalis that runs
right off to the side right through here. So, if you have a
lot of issues going off to the side of the head, give this one
a try. What I like to do is make a fan or I should say a
rake right here with my fingers and I'm just going to start
right on the side of my head right here and then rake
backwards over that muscle and as I go back, I open up my
fingers. So, it kind of looks like this. So, press in there,
open up those fingers and hopefully that right there will
give you some nice relief. I like to do this one for about
five to ten times and with it, just try to build into it a
little bit more with each repetition. Afterward, I like
to hit the muscle just a little bit differently. So, make a
rake with your fingers again. This time around, start right
at the front part of the head and rake downwards. We're
trying to attack the muscle fibers at a different angle and
you'll notice that it just hits the muscle a little bit
differently and it might offer you some more relief. So, go
towards the front, go towards the middle, then go towards the
back and you can repeat this whole cycle for five to 10
times. Usually feels really really good. The last part I
like to focus on is right here over the temple. So, I'm going
to make hooks with two fingers again and go right towards that
little divot right here on the temple and I like to just press
in there. This one right here usually again feels really good
for about 10 to 15 seconds. I just do a nice circular
massage, relax, and repeat it three to five times.
Afterwards, see how you feel. If any of those motions helped
out a little bit more, focus on that, throw more repetitions
in. So, this one is really good for anybody that gets headaches
because they carry a lot of stress, tension,and tightness in
the upper back going into the shoulders into the side of the
neck. This one you can do standing or seated. Whatever
side that you have more issues. Let's say it's my right side.
I'm going to bend my arm at 90 degrees and then I'm going to
take the back side of my hand and slide it across my lower
back as much as I can. You should feel a muscle at the top
of the shoulder going into the side of the neck start to fire.
That is known as the upper trapezius. Once we feel that,
we're going to take our hand on the other side, hook the side
of our head, and slowly our ear towards the other side
shoulder. So, I'm going towards my left. When you do this,
you're really going to feel a deep stretch off to the right
side. It usually feels really good. I like to hold this one
for about 15 to 20 seconds. From there, I just relax. On
the next repetition, I build into it just a little bit more
and I try to do this one for about three to five times on
both sides. Next, we're going to focus on a muscle called the
levator scapula. It runs off right through here on the back
side of the neck. This is known as the armpit sniffer and
you're going to find out here in a second why it's called
that so again let's say I have a lot going on on my right side
I'm going to turn my head away from the side pain so in this
case I'm going towards my left go over as far as you can until
you feel those neck muscles start to fire from there I'm
going to take my hand hook it on the back side of my head and
passively pull my chin downward towards my armpit until I feel
a very deep stretch on the back part of the neck again this one
usually feels really good. Hold this one for 15 to 20 seconds.
You're going to relax and then build into it on the next
repetition just a little bit more. Three to five times on
both sides. The last movement, we're going to focus a little
bit more on the front part of the neck. This one is going to
target a muscle called the SCM or sternocleidomastoid. So,
again, let's say I have a lot going on my right side. I'm
going to tilt my head towards the non-painful side. So, in
this case, my left, take my hand, kind of pull it over,
just passviely until I intensify that stretch and then what I'm going
to do is rotate my head and try to look upward towards the
ceiling at the same time. You'll notice that it hits a
muscle right through here on the front part of the neck.
Again, it can usually feel really really good. 15 to 22nd
hold. You're just going to relax and then repeat this one
three to five times. Again, I would do this on both sides to
keep everything imbalance. So, one of the most effective ways
to get quick headache relief is through pulling motions known
as traction. Think of a very deep stretch in the neck that just takes
tension and stress and pressure off everything it usually feels
really really good you can do this one standing or seated
what I'm going to do is have very good upright posture take
the webbing of one hand put it right on your chin if you do
have a lot of jaw issues you can go right below the nose
also but what I want to do is a head retraction that is drawing
my head backward as much as I can right here until I feel
those muscles in the neck start to fire. From there, I'm going to
take the hand on the other side, hook right at the back of
my head. The movement is very simple. We're going to push
back and then pull forward at the same time. When you do
this, you're going to feel a deep stretch forming throughout
the whole neck. You want to hold this one comfortably for
15 to 20 seconds. You're just going to relax. On the next
repetition, try to build into it just a little bit more. I
try to do that for about three to five times. To take this one
to the next level instead of going straight with it, tilt your
head towards one side. So, kind of like look over one
shoulder and then repeat. You're going to notice it hits
the muscle just a little bit differently. So, experiment
going all the way towards one side and then switch to the
other. You're going to notice that one certain spot hits it a
little bit better and offers more relief. At that point,
make a note of that, throw more repetitions in. So, let's take
that last exercise to the next level by doing what is called
banded traction. For this one, we're just going to use a light
resistance pull-up band. You can pretty much get this at any
local sporting goods department I will also leave a link in
this video's description for this exact one they're pretty
inexpensive I'm going to start off by taking my band looping
it around a doorknob on the backside of a door and then
closing it for a stable anchor point that way it's not
going to come back and whack us and if you are worried
definitely use that lock button so let's start off by getting
into position take a hand drying towel and wrap it at the
end of that band and place it right on the curve of your
neck. You're going to lie flat on your back. Head is going to
be flat on the floor. You want your body in a nice straight
line with this band also. From there, I'm just going to take
my arms and my legs and push and pull myself away from the
door. The more that we go down, the deeper this pulling stretch
is going to get. So, only go towards your comfort level.
Once we hit that spot, I like to hold this for an extended
period of time, three to 5 minutes. I just close my eyes,
kind of doze off, just do nice, slow, control breathing. The
more that you relax into this, let tension out, the more
headache relief you're going to get but if you do need a
breather just scoop back like this you can take this one to
the next level by putting different motions in the neck
to target more muscles and just open it up a little bit
differently so what I do is I keep my head flat but I'm going
to look over one shoulder so go all the way towards the left go
all the way towards the right you can also do a tilting
motion so taking your ear downward towards your shoulder.
Again, all the way towards the left, go all the way towards
the right. If any of those positions offer you more
relief, really focus on them just a little bit more. If the
exercises help, please support the channel by giving this
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any comments or questions, please leave them below. I'll
get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks for watching!