Stress is a common trigger for migraines. One method for relieving stress is relaxation. Easier said than done, right? When it comes to migraines, simply relaxing in a recliner isn’t enough. You need to think extreme relaxation.

There are three major types of relaxation techniques:

Autogenic training. Utilizes visual imaging and bodily awareness to advance the patient into a state of deep relaxation. The patient imagines a tranquil location, then begins focusing physical sensations that gradually move upward from the feet toward the head.

Progressive muscle relaxation. Involves the slow tensing up and then releasing of each muscle group individually, beginning with the muscles in the toes and finishing with the head.

Meditation. Uses either Transcendental Meditation involving the repetition of a mantra, mindfulness meditation in which patients focus their attention on their momentary thoughts and sensations.

Research has shown that in many cases meditation improves one’s quality of life, while reducing stress. Studies also reveal that relaxation techniques assist in the reduction of the perception of pain. One study using patients undergoing colorectal surgery concluded that patients who listened to guided-imagery tapes before, during, and after the operation had less pain and needed fewer pain medications than those who did not. Meditation is also used extensively in treating post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition, relaxation techniques have been found useful in strengthening coping skills in migraine sufferers.

Fortunately, relaxation techniques can be done just about anywhere at any time. These techniques include:

Deep breathing

Active relaxation

Stretching exercises

Visualization

Passive relaxation

Deep breathing: Simply breathe in deeply through the nose, letting your stomach expand as much as possible. It may be helpful to place your hands firmly & comfortably on your stomach during the exercise. Once you’ve breathed in as much as possible, hold your breath for a few seconds & then exhale slowly through your mouth. Repeat this for 3 or 4 breaths several times a day.

Active relaxation: First tense, then relax each muscle in the body. Start with the muscles in the head & move down to the muscles in the feet.

Stretching exercises simple and easy and can be literally anywhere. It’s a wonderful way to loosen up tight muscles and combat stress. Muscle tension is an automatic physical response to stress and the benefit of simple stretching exercises is often overlooked as a relaxation technique.

Another relaxation technique that can help to reduce stress is clearing the mind or visualization. Visualization is a type of directed meditation that involves using the mind’s eye to clear away mental clutter or to actually visualize how a stressful situation can be handled successfully. Picturing the stressful situation in your mind such as a business presentation or an athletic performance & then visually rehearsing the outcome does this. Visualization techniques also may be used to imagine a peaceful scene such as ocean waves lapping on the beach to create relaxation.

Meditation & self-hypnosis are passive relaxation techniques that can be used to create relaxation. Four elements are used in meditation: a quiet environment, a point of focus like a neutral word that can help with concentration, a passive, accepting attitude & a comfortable position.

Meditation once or twice a day for 10-20 minutes each time can bring rapid relief from chronic stress & also increase a person’s ability to tolerate stress.

Learning ways to help yourself relax can have many benefits, perhaps the most important of which is developing a feeling of confidence about facing the everyday challenges of life, including helping to:

Reduce unhealthy stress & anxiety

Increase resistance to illness & disease

Lower blood pressure

Reduce the heart rate

Relieve muscle tension

Cope with medical problems, such as chronic pain or diabetes

Prevent, manage & cope with migraine headaches

Cope with extremely stressful or painful situations, such as childbirth.

Relaxation techniques are also considered very safe with delightful lack of side effects, although there have been very rare and unusual cases where people have actually raised their levels of anxiety rather than lowered them after using the techniques because of a heightened awareness of body sensations. Even more rare are the reports of pain, heart palpitations, muscle twitching, and crying spells.

In the 1970s, in some restaurants, you could find biofeedback machines. They offered you all sorts of information about your body. Today, biofeedback is still considered a legitimate way to attain relaxation. It’s a technique that uses monitoring equipment in order to help control stress.

Biofeedback is rooted in the idea that the autonomic nervous system can be trained. For instance, equipment can determine heart rates, muscle tension, and blood pressure while individuals try to change their breathing, thinking, or posture. By working with the machines, individuals can conceivably learn the best methods for relaxation. However, the equipment can only be monitored by someone with specific training in biofeedback.

According to Dr. Leonard Holmes, feedback can come in a variety of forms: a line on a computer screen, a tone of a certain pitch, or a blinking light. A typical type of biofeedback is the EMG, which indicates the tension in your muscles. It is important to note that biofeedback is not active treatment. It is up to you decide what you can do in order to lower your heartbeat and reduce your stress level. If you suffer from migraines or neck pain, biofeedback can also help you to relax your muscles so that you don’t experience as much—or possibly any—pain.

In order to determine whether biofeedback would be effective in your particular case, a stress profile might be used. Monitoring device will determine your heart rate, blood pressure, and temperature. You are then exposed to stress, such as a history quiz. As a result, the biofeedback professional will have some idea how your body reacts to stressful situations.

Interestingly enough, insurance companies have been known to cover biofeedback treatment. For instance, biofeedback may be covered for headaches. However, other companies view biofeedback as entirely experimental. When biofeedback first came onto the scene, some practitioners believed that it would enable us to have nearly complete control over our bodies. However, that is not the case. In many situations, our bodies are basically operating under “automatic pilot.” However, it is true that biofeedback can be helpful to some individuals, particularly those who are looking for a means for relaxation.

Biofeedback is used in a number of cases today. For instance, it has been used to treat headaches, stomach problems, high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, epilepsy, and paralysis. A number of different kinds of health professionals use biofeedback, including physical therapists, nurses, psychologists, psychiatrists, and dentists. Once the biofeedback machine detects certain physiological reactions, patients usually engage in various relaxation exercises. Also, you as a patient may learn about the triggers that cause certain physiological problems. You can also learn how to deal more effectively with stressful issues that appear in your life.

It is important, however, to note that biofeedback is not a quick fix. It cannot in itself cure any illness. It is simply a tool that you can use to take control of your health and well-being. With biofeedback, individuals can be empowered to seek solutions to common health problems. Unlike other treatment programs, biofeedback requires of great deal from the patient in order to be successful.

Would you personally benefit from biofeedback? That depends on your willingness to experiment and your own comfort level. If you believe that biofeedback could be beneficial, you should discuss it with your doctor. He or she might want to determine first whether traditional treatment would be better in your particular case. In most cases, you will need to have a complete physical exam before you engage in biofeedback. You may even have to undergo a neurological test.

If you’re considering biofeedback, you should ask your family physician for a referral to a biofeedback expert. You’ll want to make sure that you are dealing with a trained professional. Keep an open mind during the treatment. If it makes you uncomfortable, you might be better off looking at other treatment options. While it first began in the 1960s, biofeedback remains an experimental technology. Therefore, don’t be disappointed if it doesn’t seem to work in your particular case. However, there is little harm in trying it. In fact, it could make you more attuned to your body and better able to manage the stress in your life.

Perhaps you’re an airline pilot who’s just spent hours in the cockpit. It seems like every muscle in your body is tense and you need relief. Or perhaps you’re a stay-at-home mom who’s spent the better part of your day cleaning your house. You feel as if your nerves are shot and you desperately want to feel better.
In both instances, the key to relieving stress may be progressive muscle relaxation. It’s a technique that began in the 1930s, but still has relevance today. With this technique, muscle groups are flexed and then relaxed in short order. The foundation of this technique is the concept that physical relaxation leads to mental repose. While the method does involve activating the muscles, you don’t have to be a weightlifter to try it. That’s because it requires no special training. In fact, virtually anyone can master the technique.
In general, you’ll want to practice the method ten to 20 minutes a day. But don’t blame yourself if you don’t master it on the first try. It’s best to take a gradual approach, improving your muscle flexing capabilities over time. You’ll need to rehearse the technique again and again in order to obtain maximum benefit. You’ll also need to be patient because you might not be able to pick it up in a single afternoon. But, in the long run, it will be well worth the effort.
Progressive muscle relaxation is referred to as a deep relaxation technique. This means that it can not only reduce stress, but also help alleviate chronic pain and sleeplessness. Doctors often use the technique in an effort to treat migraines and cancer. Usually, the relaxation technique begins with the feet and the legs, then gradually moves up the body to the chest, neck, and face. However, some physicians may try to relax muscle groups in a different order.
After some time, the amount of muscle tension attempted is increased in order to maximize the work of the muscles. You can engage in this exercise while seated, or you can do it lying in bed. Make sure, however, that you attempt it only in a place that is quiet and tranquil. Otherwise, you might find it difficult to complete the exercise. To begin with, tighten the muscles for about eight seconds and then release. Relax for about 30 seconds, then move onto another set of muscles. You might use progressive muscle relaxation in conjunction with imagery. In other words, you might imagine that you are like a wave of the ocean unleashing your power by flexing your muscles.
Through progressive muscle relaxation, you can learn to interpret your body’s cues. In this way, you can identify signs of tension within your body and determine ways to correct it. As a result, you should feel much less stress and may even feel as if you have more energy. Because progressive muscle relaxation has been around for decades, it is proven effective. Therefore, it is not a fad, but a legitimate relaxation technique.
Your initial relaxation session should last about an hour. You will engage in such activities as making a fist, bending your arms, raising your eyebrows, clenching your teeth, pulling up your shoulders, tightening your abdominal muscles, and lifting your heels. In time, such exercises will become second-nature to you. However, you should not try to speed up your exercises—the point is to remain relaxed, not to quicken your pace. The exercises may be a perfect activity on a Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon—whenever you’re ready to relax.
Progressive muscle relaxation is for anyone. Whether you work at a construction site or a classroom, in a music hall or in a meat market, you can benefit from the relaxation exercises. Granted, it may be hard for you to relax at first, especially if you are a Type A personality. But, chances are, you’ll quickly master the technique and learn to enjoy your exercises. In time, such relaxation exercises should become a natural part of life. You’ll feel healthier, more energetic, and less stressed. Chances are your attitude will brighten, since the weight of the world has been taken from your shoulders. You’ll find that time relaxing is truly time well-spent.

One method of alternative treatment for migraines that is increasing in popularity is biofeedback.

Biofeedback is basically a way for a person to learn control over body a function. Functions that include muscle tension and even levels of hormones in the blood have a direct influence upon headaches. By using biofeedback techniques, information concerning these functions are supplied to the person undergoing the technique.

A biofeedback session begins with a technician attaching your body via wires to a computer that will monitor such things as heart rate, brain waves, pulse, muscle activities, perspiration and skin temperature. The readings of these monitors will be presented as sounds or as video images. There are basically two goals involved in biofeedback. Making yourself more attuned with how you feel when your body is undergoing a variety of physical changes, for instance, changes in blood pressure, and secondly, teaching you how to adjust your physical responses so that you can effectively avoid problems associated with them, such as migraines. The biofeedback sessions typically last from thirty to sixty minutes, whereas the actual number of sessions you will need depend greatly upon your condition as well as the progress you make. Regardless of how well you respond, it is best not to exceed fifteen sessions. The final step involved in biofeedback technique is fully understanding what you have learned and then effectively applying it to you lifestyle without the benefit of the biofeedback machines.

Not all biofeedback is alike. Indeed there are a variety of methods and the one you choose will be dependent upon your individual needs.

Electromyogram (EMG). An EMG uses electrodes or other types of sensors to measure muscle tension. By alerting you to muscle tension, you can learn to recognize the feeling early on and try to control the tension right away. EMG is mainly used to promote the relaxation of those muscles involved in backaches, headaches, neck pain and grinding your teeth. An EMG may be used to treat some illnesses whose symptoms tend to worsen under stress, such as asthma and ulcers.

Temperature biofeedback. Sensors attached to your fingers or feet measure your skin temperature. Because your temperature often drops when you're under stress, a low reading can prompt you to begin relaxation techniques. Temperature biofeedback can help treat certain circulatory disorders, such as Reynaud's disease, or reduce the frequency of migraines.

Galvanic skin response training. Sensors measure the activity of your sweat glands and the amount of perspiration on your skin, alerting you to anxiety. This information can be useful in treating emotional disorders such as phobias, anxiety and stuttering.

Electroencephalogram (EEG). An EEG monitors the activity of brain waves linked to different mental states, such as wakefulness, relaxation, calmness, light sleep and deep sleep.

Biofeedback has proven an effective method for many seeking alternative, non-traditional, non-medicated relief from migraine. There are several appealing factors at play in choosing to undergo biofeedback. For one thing, if successful if you reduce and possibly eliminate your dependence upon drugs. For those who don’t respond to medication, it potentially can help your situation significantly. Once you begin biofeedback you may get the extra-added appeal of feeling as if you have genuine control over your disease. And, last but hardly least, it could seriously curtail your medical expenses.

However, like all other treatments, there are some drawbacks. For instance, if you are one of those anal-retentive types who have to know how something works instead on relying on the fact that it does work, you should know that experts aren’t completely certain of the why when it comes to biofeedback. Many people who are consistently successful at using it to fend of a variety of health problems are totally ignorant of how they do it; all they can tell you is that their symptoms have subsided with the help of this technique where they didn’t subside with any other.

Although biofeedback is considered to one of the safer methods of migraine treatment, it is still recommended that you discuss it with a doctor who is knowledgeable about the technique. You should also be aware that biofeedback has been known to interfere with the use of some medications, such as insulin.

While migraines are most common in adults, particularly women, children are also prone to developing them. Migraines are not caused by stress or tension, like tension headaches, but rather result from an intricate biochemical process involving the constriction and expanding of blood vessels in the brain. It is estimated that as much as 5% of children are affected by migraine. Boys and girls equally are affected by migraines when they are very young, but during puberty the shift begins toward females suffering more than males. This shift in teenage girls is due to changes in hormones.

Migraines may be diagnosed in children as young as 4 years of age, though the process of diagnosis of migraines in children is a process of trial and error. Migraines are diagnosed as the cause of headaches only after ruling out more serious causes. In addition, a comprehensive family medical history should be provided, and both a general physical and neurological examination can be expected before diagnosis can be determined as migraines.

Most children who suffer with migraines will have inherited the sickness. Should migraines run in your family, you would be wise to keep an eye on whether your child is experiences any kind of motion sickness. Motion sickness if often seen as an early indicator of the possibility of developing migraines later on. It’s very possible, in fact it’s quite probable, that there will be a family history of migraines. In addition, kids who develop migraines experienced colic, nightmares or disturbances in sleeping patterns. The throbbing pain experienced by a children’s migraine is often intense enough to interfere with school and other daily activities. You should also be aware that physical activity can exacerbate the situation so make sure your child’s school PE teacher is aware of your child’s condition.

As with adult migraines, auras may or may not accompany a child’s headache. Auras are visual experiences such a flashing points of lights, zigzagging lights, etc. Unlike migraines in adults, however, the duration of migraines usually don’t longer than three or four hours. Some extreme migraines may be accompanied by temporary neurological problems such as an inability to speak, a loss of sensation or even, in rare cases, a loss of consciousness.

Specific to children and migraines is the so-called "Alice in Wonderland" Syndrome. This syndrome involves hallucinations that distort images and shapes, or sometimes causes objects to appear larger or smaller. In fact, one theory has it that Lewis Carroll himself, the author of Alice in Wonderland, suffered from migraines and that the bizarre occurrences in his children’s classic is a rendering of his experiences.

Treatment for children’s migraines often includes the use of medications. Most children benefit from acetaminophen (Tylenol and other brands), or anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen. If these over the counter medications don't alleviate your child's pain within several hours, you may need to look into the possibility of prescription medication. Some drugs are used to prevent or lessen the frequency of migraines, while others are used for immediate pain relief. Children can be involved in treatment by keeping a headache diary which may help them to identify factors that "trigger" a headache. They can plan for rest (headaches may be relieved by sleep) and learn to manage stress. Studies have shown that the frequency of migraines may be lessened by the use of biofeedback, relaxation techniques and acupuncture.

In addition, you may want to look into the many non-drug therapies that are available such as stress biofeedback, meditation and stress management. These approaches needn’t take the place of medication, they can work in conjunction with medical treatment. Also, don’t underestimate the importance of good nutrition, sticking to a solid sleep routine and making sure the child gets enough exercise.

If you suspect that your child may be experiencing migraines, consider making an appointment with your pediatrician after first keeping a migraine journal in which you recorded the following information:

How many headaches your child had each week.

Where on the head was the pain located.

How painful was the headache?

How long the headache lasted.

Did any foods, drinks or activities seem to set them off?

Does your child's headaches affect his/her normal activity?