The Mindful Migraine

I have always been fascinated by those posters in shop windows that show your organs transplanted from your torso to your feet.  The idea that you can sooth your liver by rubbing a particular spot on your foot seems both ridiculous and strangely logical… as well as very appealing to me. 

[Image source: What the “Foot” is Reflexology? – Rub Massage]

I haven’t met anyone yet who swears to reflexology for ending their migraines, and for myself, I have had mixed results with acupuncture and acupressure – touching the ‘the right spot’ has landed me three days in bed with a severe migraine a couple of times… BUT… gentle touch has also saved many a migraine from cascading into more pain.

Perhaps you’ve been compelled to slip off your shoes when you arrive at the beach to feel the warm sand, or at a park where the grass seems particularly soft, or (me me me) you can’t wait to discard your shoes at your home’s front door so you can feel the familiar bounce of carpet beneath your free-feet. 

Each of these tactile experiences is different because the ground beneath us differs.  Our brain can sense the difference.  One of the Tai Chi moves I like, includes rocking on your feet, slowly rotating, feeling your body’s weight transfer from front, to left, to back, to right.  Each time you do so, slowly, carefully, you notice that. Careful of balance.  Rooted to the ground, but also aware of your whole body’s posture…

Belief that organs are attached to feet, on the other hand, feels a bit more foreign.  I am yet to try the experience myself, I worry that like acupuncture and massage, they might touch ‘the right spot’ that corresponds with my sore head and accidently trigger a migraine… and besides… could it really be true that our big toe relates to our head pain??? 

I have heard that some people deliberately walk barefoot on pebbles as a means of massaging their soles.  So maybe. And of course, as is so often the case in a materialistic world – there are shoes and sandals that simulate the experience.

Now my blogpost is wondering around as much as my feet…

Circling back to reflexology – can it help a migraine?

According to WikiHow (super-serious source, I know) – the answer is YES – and as they point out, the risks associated with applying pressure to your feet are low, so it can’t hurt to try this at home – link here.

[Disclaimer – that said – please remember I am not a doctor, so be sure to speak to your own health care provider before attempting any radical changes in your migraine-care routine.]

WikiHow gives a couple of points that you can apply pressure to, including, the tips of each toe and the ‘knuckle’ on your big toe – because these respond to your head, face and sinuses:

[Image source: WikiHow]

The site also recommends pressing between your middle and second toes for pain around your eyes or massage below your big toes for pain in your neck.

All of this makes sense if you go back to that shop window poster which shows the foot as a sort of body, where the head is up near the toes, and the heel (the bottom of our foot) is towards our bottom.

I haven’t tried reflexology – but I do know how nice it is when my hubby gives my feet a rub, so perhaps I’ll get him to concentrate on these “head” spaces first to see if it helps.

I DO know that reflexology of a different sort has helped me in other instances where I have learnt about pressure points in my hands to massage (more info here), or when I’ve used EFT tapping on my head (here).

One of the main reasons, is perhaps highlighted in the migraines and reflexology article on news-medical.net: Reflexologists believe that their routine “sends a ‘calming’ message from peripheral nerves to the central nervous system, which instructs the body to reduce tension.”

When they get technical however, and refer to specific clinical trials they noted that the 2009 trials: “found that the best available evidence at the time did not convincingly demonstrate that reflexology is an effective intervention in the treatment of any medical condition.” In 2018, however, results “suggested a reduction in the intensity of headache when reflexology massage was applied.”

To me this suggests that gentle human touch is helpful – the how and where, however is less important – BUT – human touch alone is not likely to reverse or cure a migraine. It’s a form of healing, but not the sort that might get you out of bed. Then again, anything that reduces suffering sounds like a win to me.

If you’re interested in learning a little more about how to massage your own feet to get some comfort, here’s a few videos I checked out:

(1 min): Suffering with a headache? This foot reflexology massage could help

(4 mins): How to Relieve Headaches & Migraines | Reflexology – YouTube

(6 mins): Massage Technique for Migraine Relief – ModernMom Massage

Curious to know if any of you have had a postive expereince with reflexology, or foot massages!

Take care taking care, Linda xx

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PS – I did a recent post about Foot Yoga which has been helpful for me – click here for more info.

PPS – one last look around the web produced another site, reflexology-map.com which showed some additional spots to massage on your feet, but also, interestingly, went onto your face – the places were all those that I instinctively rub; the bridge of the nose, the temples and the ‘third eye’ area just above the nose. They also include hand points which I routinely squeeze for relief. (Be a little careful on sites like this one however – I don’t like to speak ill of other people’s content, but it doesn’t seem to be well edited – some sentences are a little messy, and others are downright nonsensical (“reflexology follows some principles of acupuncture; fortunately, involves the insertion of needles”)). It’s a reminder that not all sites are created equal, and with the rise of AI generated content which is often cannibalized off other sites, there is room for error and misunderstanding. I don’t think too much harm can come from rubbing your feet, but, again, take care out there.