Massage therapy is helpful in most types of headaches but there are some types of headaches where a patient should be going to a medical doctor instead of a massage therapist.
The following lists headache symptoms that need medical attention. In the following instances, massage is NOT good for the patient’s headache. A patient should be cleared by a medical doctor before getting a massage for the following headache symptoms:
- Headache that awakens patient from sleep.
- Headache with projectile vomiting but no nausea.
- Headache that is intense, with localized pain over sinus and around teeth.
- Headache that begins after lying down.
- Headache that improves when lying down and worsens when upright (sitting up, standing up).
- Severe Headache that begins suddenly, unexpectedly, and immediately – pain reaches maximum intensity within a couple of minutes or seconds – (Thunderclap Headache).
- Change in pattern and characteristics (eg. frequency, severity) from previous headache.
- Constant headache that is always in the same location in the head.
- Headache that doesn’t go away.
- Headache that is associated with:
- altered ability to think
- seizures
- personality changes
- visual disturbances
- numbness or altered sensitivity
- loss of strength / coordination
- loss of sense of smell/taste/hearing
- Headache that worsen with activity/ exertion – headache starting while coughing, sneezing, and/or straining (for more information visit: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/primary-cough-headaches/symptoms-causes/syc-20371200 .
- Headache that is associated with fever.
- Headache that is associated with the flu, or other contagious viral or bacterial infection.
- Headache that is associated with the common cold. Common cold, aka cold, is a viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory tract that primarily affects the nose. Symptoms may include coughing, sore throat, runny nose, sneezing, headache, and fever.
