Massage for Headaches and Migraines: Does It Actually Help?

Headaches are one of the most common reasons people seek massage therapy, and one of the presentations where massage produces some of the most dramatic results. The key is understanding what type of headache you have and what's causing it.

Types of Headaches and How Massage Relates

Tension-Type Headaches

The most common type — affecting the majority of headache sufferers. These feel like a tight band or vice around the head, typically bilateral (both sides) and non-throbbing. They're often described as a dull, constant pressure.

Tension headaches are directly caused by muscle tension and trigger points in the neck, head, and shoulder muscles. Massage that addresses these structures is highly effective — often providing significant relief within a single session, and substantially reducing frequency with regular treatment.

The key muscles involved:

• Sub-occipital muscles (at the base of the skull): Probably the most significant contributors. Compression and trigger points here refer pain into the head in patterns that closely mimic tension headache. Releasing them is often the most immediately impactful thing a therapist can do.
• Upper trapezius: Trigger points in the upper trapezius commonly refer pain to the temple and side of the head.
• SCM (sternocleidomastoid): The large muscle on the front of the neck. Trigger points here refer pain in patterns that include the forehead and behind the eyes.
• Scalenes: Deep neck muscles whose trigger points refer into the upper back and sometimes the head.
• Temporalis: The broad muscle that covers the temple. Tension here directly produces temporal headache.

Cervicogenic Headaches

Headaches arising from structures in the neck — particularly the upper cervical spine and the muscles and joints associated with it. These headaches originate in the neck but are felt in the head, often around the back of the skull, temple, or behind the eye.

Cervicogenic headaches respond very well to massage that includes upper cervical work, sub-occipital release, and work on the deep cervical muscles. Many people who've been experiencing what they believed were "tension headaches" for years find that targeted cervical massage resolves them.

Migraines

Migraines are a distinct neurological condition — not simply a severe headache. They involve central sensitisation of the nervous system and typically feature significant pain (often unilateral and throbbing), nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound.

While massage doesn't treat the underlying neurological mechanisms of migraine, it's valuable as:

Preventive care: Regular massage reduces the muscular tension and stress levels that can act as migraine triggers. Many migraine sufferers find that regular massage reduces both the frequency and severity of attacks.

Post-episode recovery: Gentle massage (light pressure, calm environment) between episodes can support recovery without triggering sensitivity.

During an attack: Generally not recommended — most migraine sufferers cannot tolerate the stimulation. However, some find very specific, gentle pressure at specific points (the sub-occipital muscles, the base of the skull) provides some relief. This is highly individual.

The Sub-Occipital Release

For headache sufferers, the sub-occipital release is one of the most reliably impactful interventions in massage therapy.

The sub-occipital muscles — rectus capitis posterior major and minor, obliquus capitis superior and inferior — are tiny, deep muscles at the very base of the skull. Their role is fine control of head position. They're chronically shortened and compressed in forward head posture (the head-forward, chin-up position most people adopt at a screen) and contain numerous trigger points that refer pain into the head.

Releasing them involves sustained, precise, gentle pressure at the very base of the skull — often described as "pressing into the skull from below." It's initially intense, then releases into a spreading warmth and a profound sense of the head and neck connection softening.

Most people notice within seconds of this release why their headaches feel the way they do.

Building a Headache Management Protocol

For regular headache sufferers, massage works best as part of a broader approach:

• Regular sessions (fortnightly or monthly) to address accumulating tension before it becomes symptomatic
• Ergonomic improvements to address forward head posture at the source
• Movement and stretching: Gentle neck rotation, chin-tuck exercises, upper trapezius stretches
• Stress management: The relationship between psychological stress and headache is bidirectional — reducing stress reduces headache frequency

Clients who combine regular massage with improved posture and movement habits often see a significant reduction in headache frequency over 2-3 months.

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Therapeutic massage for headache and migraine prevention in London. Book with Anastasia — in-call and outcall available daily. View services.