There are a lot of ways to defeat a tension headache—but for most people, the most important factor is speed.
Tension headaches are often called stress headaches for a reason—and the best way to prevent them is to reduce and prevent stress. It can also be one of the best ways to treat them!
But you can’t often take a break from work to visit a sauna, soak in the bath, meditate, or do whatever it is that both relaxes you and your muscles. Sometimes, you can get away with a little yoga to help loosen muscles—and encourage better posture, which can help prevent tension headaches. You don’t want to be tensing muscles from stress while in a bad position! And a rubbing the tightened muscles or your temples can help, too.
What I find works the fastest, is Dakota Muscle Relief. It’s natural, and doesn’t have that medicinal smell, so it shouldn’t be a problem to use at work. Applying it along the shoulders and neck seems to work overtime on tension headaches, helping to relax muscles and improve the flow of things, relieving the tension. Most of the time, it works almost instantly for me (especially if I use the roll-on applicator, since it also applies pressure).
It’s a great natural option for pain relief when an OTC pain reliever may not kick in fast enough, or be a good go-to option if you’re facing chronic tension headaches (that means averaging about every other day, or 50% of the time). While aspirin may have some daily benefits (as advised by your doctor), other pain relievers may have drawbacks ranging from hearing loss to liver damage—so taking them for a daily problem when they don’t fix it long-term isn’t good.
In addition to Dakota Muscle Relief, it’s really important to drink enough water, and to come back to whatever it is that relieves stress and muscle tension as soon as you have time to—whether that’s something hot like sitting in steam, or just lying down and stretching everything out. If you’re having trouble figuring out what works for you, just try getting a little more sleep. It will help your brain sort through things, settle down, and feel less stressed. Try applying Dakota Muscle Relief, then going to bed—it will help your muscles relax so you can fall asleep more easily, and hopefully sleep will then naturally relax you so you can wake up feeling better and with happier muscles.
If you feel like stress is the real culprit behind your tension headaches, be sure to check out our D.S.A. Select for natural help managing your stress, anxiety, or depression.
Share your best tension headache tips with us in the comments:
