Hi fellow Clusterheads,

I have been suffering form CH for last 6 years. During the ongoing attack i read that some people are getting relief by putting pressure between the Thumb and Index finger, kind of acupressure. I tried this and my pain intensity has reduced from KIP 9 to KIP 4-5. Though it started paining after i did it vigorously during attack.

I am very happy but unsure how long it will work. Any of you have experienced this?

Thanks,
Satbir

sounds like reflexology thing.I ve tried this but didn't manage to get any relief.Glad it works for you

Tried it a few times, works ok for mild tension headaches, not effective for my clusters.

Using self-applied massage to deactivate myofascial trigger points in the face, neck and shoulders is more likely to be effective. Here is a study where such trigger points were deactivated with injections of anaesthetics or anti-inflammatories (similar results can be had from DIY massage).


Quote:

Head Face Med. 2008 Dec 30;4:32.    Myofascial trigger points in cluster headache patients: a case series.    Calandre EP, Hidalgo J, Garcia-Leiva JM, Rico-Villademoros F, Delgado-Rodriguez A.    Institute of Neuroscience, University of Granada, Granada, Spain. calandre@gmail.com    Active myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) have been found to contribute to chronic tension-type headache and migraine. The purpose of this case series was to examine if active trigger points (TrPs) provoking cluster-type referred pain could be found in cluster headache patients and, if so, to evaluate the effectiveness of active TrPs anaesthetic injections both in the acute and preventive headache's treatment. Twelve patients, 4 experiencing episodic and 8 chronic cluster headache, were studied. TrPs were found in all of them. Abortive infiltrations could be done in 2 episodic and 4 chronic patients, and preemptive infiltrations could be done in 2 episodic and 5 chronic patients, both kind of interventions being successful in 5 (83.3%) and in 6 (85.7%) of the cases respectively. When combined with prophylactic drug therapy, injections were associated with significant improvement in 7 of the 8 chronic cluster patients. Our data suggest that peripheral sensitization may play a role in cluster headache pathophysiology and that first neuron afferent blockade can be useful in cluster headache management.