Headaches and Pain: Overview and Self-Healing Techniques


Pain is one of the most common reasons for visiting a doctor. This is partly because headaches and other types of pain spur us to quickly seek help. And those who don't pursue medical attention or prescription drugs usually seek other remedies—painkillers are one of the most popular categories of OTCs (over-the-counter medications).

Where Does Pain Come From?
It's useful to look at how pain is perceived if we want to eliminate pain without taking medications. Pain usually starts at a pain sensor, which then sends a signal along neurons, the transmission line to the brain. When the signal reaches the brain, the brain processes it and decides there is pain.

Many steps are involved before the brain perceives a signal and decides there is pain; intervention at any of these steps can help prevent pain. Because there are many points of intervention, it is actually easier to stop pain than to feel it. Novocaine administered at the dentist's office prevents the pain signal from being created. Many other methods of numbing pain work the same way; they stop pain at the source and prevent the generation of pain signals.

From the study of physiology, we know the body releases endorphins when pain is perceived. Endorphins are our body's natural painkillers; morphine and heroin are chemicals that mimic endorphins and attach to the same nerve receptors.

Voluntary Reactions to Pain
Intelligence, or brainpower, is what sets humans apart from animals. Receiving the pain signal at the brain does not mean I must experience the pain. I have the choice of not reacting to the signal, not yelling and struggling. In this way, I have the choice of not having pain. The usual reaction to any pain signal is to tense up, stop breathing or breath faster, scream or react. However, many of these reactions are under voluntary control.

For example: I do not have novocaine injected when my dentist works on my teeth, and I definitely feel the pain signal. However, since I do not tense up or struggle, the sensation goes away. The dental pain lasts less than 10 seconds, whereas the novocaine numbing lasts for a few hours and pain returns when the drug wears off. I prefer to handle dental work without analgesics.

Important: Use Caution Before Self-Treating Headaches
Headaches are similar to most pain, yet can also be very different. Some headaches have very serious causes and need to be evaluated carefully. A good example comes from my own experience. When I managed my headaches on my own I also missed the opportunity to have a brain tumor diagnosed. I was fortunate that I survived, but it remains an important, cautionary reminder to my readers, students, and patients. It is always good to learn options for self-treatment, but to "play doctor" with your health is one of the worst things you can do.

Readers are cautioned to exercise their judgment carefully and/or have their condition diagnosed by a physician.

Headache Categories
Headaches are often the specialty of neurologists, and come in various types including migraine, cluster, tension, etc. Those are not the types this article focuses on. The headache discussed here is the "simple" type of occasional headache, usually caused by daily stress and factors not related to a more serious diagnosis.

We'll look at natural methods for treating such headaches, which sufferers usually manage with over-the-counter medications such as aspirin, Tylenol, or Advil.

The cause of these simple headaches continues to be actively studied because the effectiveness of so many analgesics depends on such research. These headaches do, however, have a common ingredient: a part of the brain feels tense and is the root source of the pain. Management is therefore aimed at releasing the tension and relieving pain.

Self-Healing the Simple or Occasional Headache
In all steps below, locating the source of tension is key. (The Hu Kou acupressure technique described below is helpful for those who haven't developed the needed awareness to locate the source of tension.) For people like me who have a long history of headaches, locating the source of tension is easier. When I know where the tension is, I just release the tension. The headache then goes away.

The ability to locate tension is important in self-healing. It means awareness. It means clarity. Tension is a major cause of many health problems. Releasing, relaxing, and letting go is a basic skill we all need to acquire.
 

Locate, then Breathe Out the Tension One method for releasing tension is to first inhale and tense up the general area of pain, making that area even tenser. This is one way to pinpoint the source of tension. On exhaling, let the tension go. After some practice, it is possible to locate and release the tension without the inhale/exhale and concurrent activities. Tensing up and releasing is a basic skill of deep relaxation. Acupressure Technique (Hu Kou) One acupressure point is useful for headache control. The Hu Kou (Tiger Jaw) is a point located in the soft tissue between the thumb and index finger. When you have a simple headache, sit down, relax, and squeeze the area between your thumb and index finger. When you feel an intense pain in the area, that is Hu Kou. When you feel the pain at Hu Kou, the headache is often released. For people who have not learned to locate and release the source of tension headaches, this is a simple alternative to aspirin. Meditation Transcendental Meditation, or TM, was one of the first movements that publicized meditation in the U.S. Basically, this is a type of mantra meditation. Previously, I was curious about the practice, and so paid the organization a fee and learned it. My main goal at the time was to relieve hay fever symptoms. However, I was also experiencing headaches related to my brain tumor. Gaining relief from my hay fever with TM took a while, but relief from the brain tumor headaches came right away. It felt like a miracle to me. In the meditative state, the body enters into a healing process, the headache tension is relieved, and health is also restored to other areas of the body.

Summary
It is my opinion that working toward awareness and an ability to locate the focus of pain is more desirable than other methods of relieving pain. Using the Hu Kou acupressure technique is helpful for people who haven't developed this needed awareness, and meditation is a technique that can help one achieve deep and broad health benefits.

—Dr. Chan


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