Relaxation From Head to Toe

Carol Ebert, MSN, RN

Of course I had been trying to mask the symptoms by taking aspirin constantly, but it wasn’t doing the trick. So what did I do? Of course - as a nurse who knows too much about what can go wrong, I assumed I had a brain tumor. So I went to see a physician who – of course – did tests, found nothing and prescribed meds. That worked for a few weeks, but with the usual side-effects of not feeling myself, the headaches came roaring back. So back to the doctor who then said – the headaches must be due to stress and you need to relax. Easier said than done doc! How do I do that?

As luck would have it, I had been learning a lot from my health education classes about prevention and self-care, plus I was a Health Service Director at a small college and right down the hall from my office was the office of a psychologist. So I marched on in and said – I have headaches and the doctors can’t help me and they said it is due to stress and can you help me? And he said – of course I can. What a surprise and relief that there was hope.

So he hooked me up to a biofeedback system of electrodes on my scalp and an oscilloscope in front of me which gave me a visual representation of the rapid muscle activity creating my pain. Then he taught me how to slow down my breathing rate and begin relaxing my muscles which showed up on the screen as fewer peaks and valleys and finally a smoother curve. That was the first time I had been able to release some of the pressure in my head and could watch my efforts take hold by seeing what was happening on the screen. They don’t call that bio-feedback for nothing! It was great to see my biology giving me feedback.

So his prescription for my pain was not meds, but practice relaxing the technique he showed me. What do you think my first words were out of my mouth (besides great appreciation for what he had shown me. When will I get better? (that was my “impatient self” asking). He said practice this twice a day for 10 days and you will be able to manage your headaches. And guess what – he was right. I did what he said and in 10 days I was able to control my headaches without any meds. And it does make sense because the body usually can heal something (like a cut) in about 10 days. So I was starting to heal my stress.

Now I was on my way with my new self-care tool for managing headaches, and as of today, I still use relaxation strategies of a variety to keep them from returning. I also know when I miss a few days, those headaches are always waiting in the wings ready to kick back in, which is a reminder that this is a lifelong tool that needs to be part of my daily healthy lifestyle habits. And so it is to this day!

This wonderful relaxation tool is called Progressive Muscle Relaxation and has been shown to have the following benefits beyond managing headaches.

Reduces anxiety and tension
Improves sleep
Eases neck pain
Reduces low back pain
Improves systolic blood pressure
Decreases the frequency of migraine attacks
Reduces temporomandibular joint (TMJ) symptoms
Reduces stress levels to improve negative effects of chronic diseases

So what are you waiting for? If you are challenged by any of the issues on this list, it is worth a try. The key of course is practice and consistency, but if you are willing to give it just 10 days you may be rewarded with less meds and more empowerment over your own wellbeing.

And because I am such a fan of how well this works, I created a video to show you how to do it for yourself. Remember, twice a day for at least 10 days, and then you might be able to do it just once a day in the morning to get yourself off to a relaxed start for the day.