The World Health Organization reports that 50 to 75 percent of adults 18-65 years experienced a headache in the past year. About 30% or more experience headache’s favorite cousin: migraines.
So when Tylenol doesn’t work, massages can help with headaches. “Many patients find massage therapy helpful, in which case I encourage them to make it a regular part of their treatment plan along with other healthy lifestyle habits, relaxation, and self-care activities.” Dawn Buse, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Director of Behavioral Medicine at the Montefiore Headache Center in New York, told the American Massage Therapy Association.
A 2002 study looked at how massage therapy on the head and shoulders affected chronic tension headaches. Not only did they shorten the length of a chronic tension headache, but the number of chronic tension headaches decreased after one week of massage. A 2006 study in the journal Annals of Behavioral Medicine found that people who got massages reduced their number of migraines and improved sleep quality.
