Natural Techniques to Remedy Your Migraine

There’s no “one size fits all” home remedy for migraine relief, but there’s a variety of at-home options to supplement current medical therapies and medications.

Apply an ice pack or warm compress

The underlying causes of migraine aren’t fully understood, but migraine pain often comes from activation of your trigeminovascular system, a network made up of the trigeminal nerve and its associated blood vessels.

The trigeminal nerve is the largest cranial nerve in your head and is responsible for relaying sensations from your face to your brain.

Among many other processes, activation of the trigeminovascular system triggers the release of chemicals that cause blood vessels in the brain to widen. This can lead to inflammation and the throbbing, pulsating pain of a migraine headache.

Applying cold compresses to your head or shoulders can help relieve migraine pain by encouraging blood vessels to narrow, decreasing inflammation, and slowing the pain signals traveling along your nerves.

Cold compresses should be applied for no longer than 15 minutes at a time. If you’re using an ice pack, placing it in a towel will protect your skin from too cold temperatures.

For some people, muscle tension can add to migraine pain. In this case, applying a warm compress to your shoulders may help relax and soothe your muscles and help alleviate some of the pain of a migraine attack.

You can try for yourself to see whether cold packs or a warm compress helps your migraine attacks.

Stress-relieving activities

Migraine triggers are circumstances that increase the likelihood you’ll experience a migraine.

Stress is the most common trigger of migraine, and managing stress can help reduce how frequently you experience severe headaches and can also reduce the severity of your pain if you’re having a migraine attack.

By managing stress in the moment, you’re taking away the catalyst setting off your migraine response.

Ways you can reduce stress during a migraine include:

Massage and…