Not tonight… I've got a headache.

Headaches… the perfect way to ruin a romantic rendezvous. No? With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I thought I would talk about headaches and suggest ways to prevent this trouble maker from ruining not only your love life, but your daily life, too.

According to Web MD, 30 to 80% of the adult Americans suffer from occasional tension headaches. Some of these may have hereditary causes, while others can be caused by lifestyle or environment, such as poor posture, unhealthy eating habits, a high stress job, or a demanding home life. Any combination of stress-inducing factors could become the trigger, really.

That said, massage therapy may be your best secret weapon to keep headaches at bay. At the very least, massage therapy can help you deal with the pain while you determine the best approach to maneuvering through the mitigating factors that might be causing your headaches.

But don’t just take my word for it…

According to The American Journal of Manipulative Physiological and Therapeutics; a 30-minute massage on cervical trigger points may improve autonomic nervous system regulation in chronic tension headache patients. Patients also exhibit a better psychological state and reduce the stress and anxiety associated with this disorder. Patients reported relief of symptoms within 24 hours after the massage.

So there you have it.

True, stress is a part of most everyone's life. But finding ways to manage stress, such as making massage therapy a regular part of your health regimen, can help you relieve the pain of tension headaches. And, that can go a long way toward improving your love life, too! ;-)

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