If for whatever reason you’d rather not take pharmaceutical medication to treat your migraines, or if you’re keen to find something that you can to do in addition to the medication you’re already taking, these natural treatments for migraine may prove to be of some help.
Acupressure
According to traditional Chinese medicine, applying pressure to the point on your hand between your thumb and index finger can help to relieve headache pain. To use this to your advantage, squeeze the indentation with the thumb and index finger of your other hand and massage it using a circular motion. After five minutes, swap hands.
Caffeine
This can be both a blessing and a curse. If you have too much on a regular basis then you can build up a tolerance to it so that its beneficial effects no longer work. However, if you have a cup or a can of something caffeinated when you feel a migraine coming on it could help to alleviate your symptoms as caffeine has a mild painkilling effect. (It can also help painkilling medication to take effect more quickly).
Biofeedback
This is where electronic sensors are used to monitor muscle tension, blood pressure, and heart rate. The aim is to use the results to help teach patients how to control these normally automatic bodily functions. If you know how to lower your blood pressure, hopefully any migraines that you have which are caused by too much pressure in the blood vessels in your brain will reduce in frequency and/or intensity.
Vitamins
Taking a daily dose of butterbur was shown to reduce migraine frequency in half of participants in an Albert Einstein College of Medicine study. Similar positive results were found in a German clinical trial when daily doses of vitamin B2 were taken. Magnesium and coenzyme Q10 have also been shown to decrease migraine frequency.
Leave a Reply