Headaches are painful conditions that can have wide-ranging impacts, from minor discomfort to complete incapacitation. Migraine headaches often are especially painful, sending sufferers in search of dark, quiet rooms and powerful medications to reduce their symptoms. If you’ve ever had a migraine, you understand how devastating it can be.

Migraines have several potential causes, including hormonal changes, diet, and sleep disruption. One that seems to be on the rise in today’s busy, often stressful world is muscle tension. 

A bright spot for people affected by intense headaches is the use of massage chairs for migraine prevention and relief. Research cited by the National Institutes of Health indicates that massage therapy can significantly reduce headache frequency. Regular massage therapy has also been shown to reduce headache duration. 

Massage chairs with advanced choreography can provide massage therapy similar to treatments from a massage therapist. If you close your eyes during a session in your massage chair, it’s not difficult to imagine the lifelike movements coming from the hands of a skilled professional. They’re actually produced by rollers, air cells, and other components expertly coordinated by the chair’s electronic “brain,” but the effect is the same. Not all chairs have advanced choreography, so if migraine relief is important to you, be sure the one you select does have it.

Let’s take a closer look at how massage chairs can relieve migraines and other headaches. 

Massage Chairs for Headache Relief and Prevention: How They Produce Results

People who ask, “Does a massage chair help with migraines?” or “Can a massage chair help with headaches?” are pleased to learn that sessions in a massage chair can be effective for preventing headaches or addressing them when they occur. Their next question is typically, “How do massage chairs prevent or relieve headaches?” 

At Furniture For Life, we encourage those types of questions, as we want our customers to make well-informed decisions about their massage chair purchases. High-quality chairs target the causes of headaches in multiple ways, including:

Muscle relaxation
Massage chairs use kneading, tapping, and other motions to work out knots and tension in the areas where stress-related tension accumulates and can trigger headaches—often the neck, shoulders, and upper back. By releasing this tension, massage chairs can directly reduce the risk of migraines and other headaches and provide relief if they occur.

Improved circulation
Massage therapy increases blood flow and lymph circulation. This helps the body deliver fresh, oxygenated blood to tense muscles and remove metabolic byproducts that can cause pain. This can help prevent headaches or provide relief when they occur. In addition, improved circulation benefits the entire body, supporting better health in many ways. 

Reduced stress response
The rhythmic motions and gentle pressure of massage chair sessions trigger the body’s parasympathetic nervous system (or relaxation system), lowering overall stress levels. This is helpful since the so-called “fight-or-flight” response can cause or worsen headaches. As stress decreases, so does the likelihood of a headache occurring.

Trigger point manipulation
Massage chairs can address trigger points—irritable spots in the muscles that can cause pain in other areas of the body. This phenomenon is known as “referred” pain. Working trigger points in the neck and shoulders can provide significant headache relief.

Who Benefits From Massage Chairs for Addressing Migraine Symptoms?

Many people who experience migraines or tension headaches can benefit from regular massage therapy in their massage chair. For example, if you’re a business professional, you may experience significant job stress but have minimal time to travel to and attend sessions with a massage therapist. Having a massage chair in your home or office lets you enjoy tension-relieving sessions whenever it’s convenient. 

No scheduling. No dealing with traffic on the drive to a therapist’s office. You simply block a few minutes on your calendar, ease into your chair, and let it go to work on your stiff and sore muscles. Not only do sessions release tension, but they also induce deep relaxation, which is good for you personally and can help you perform better in your job.

Active individuals also benefit from massage chairs for relieving headache pain. Sessions in a massage chair following a workout can help prevent muscles from tightening up as the body cools or loosen them if they get tight. Ask any athlete about the benefits of combining workouts with massage therapy, and you’ll get an enthusiastic response. They understand that having 24/7 access to a massage chair reduces muscle tension, speeds recovery, decreases the incidence of headaches, and improves overall well-being.  

Another group that appreciates the value of in-home massage therapy is older adults, including those who suffer from headaches. They like that their massage chair provides safe, effective, non-invasive relief of muscle tension. Unless a senior has a specific health concern that makes massage chair sessions unsafe for them, their doctor will likely endorse getting regular massages. 

What To Look for in a Massage Chair for Headache Relief

Every advanced massage chair will relax your body, which can help prevent or address headaches. However, if you want to purchase a massage chair for headache relief specifically, there are certain features you should prioritize, including:

• Features focused on the neck and shoulders. Ensure the massage chair has rollers or air cells directly targeting the neck, shoulders, and upper back. Some chairs even have specialized headrest rollers to release tension at the base of the skull.
• Session customization. The ability to tailor the pressure a massage chair provides is crucial. Too much could worsen a headache, so start gently and gradually increase the intensity if appropriate.
• Heat therapy. Many massage chairs have integrated heating elements. Those that can provide heat therapy to the upper back, shoulders, and neck can be especially effective in relieving headache-inducing muscle tension. 

Talk With Your Doctor About Intense Headaches

Headaches typically are temporary conditions caused by muscle tension, hormonal changes, and other benign factors. However, persistent or particularly intense headaches can indicate other medical problems. 

If your headaches are concerning, it is crucial to discuss them with your doctor. 

Looking for a Massage Chair To Prevent or Relieve Migraine Pain? Find the Ideal Chair for You. 

Everyone experiences and “carries” muscle tension differently. For some people, the tension is most noticeable in their necks. Others develop extreme tightness in their shoulders when they’re stressed.

The massage chair you purchase must address your specific needs and concerns. You don’t want to buy a massage chair hoping to relieve migraine pain only to find that the model you choose doesn’t work well for you. 

Recommendations from friends, online reviews, and product feature lists are helpful, but the best way to know if a massage chair will provide the headache relief you seek is to use it. That’s our focus when people visit a Furniture For Life showroom. 

Our friendly and knowledgeable Comfort Consultants take the time to understand your needs, develop a list of products from our curated collection of The World’s Best Massage Chairs® most likely to meet them, and guide you as you experience each one. It’s an enjoyable, unhurried experience that helps you identify your ideal chair. 

It’s also a no-pressure interaction. If you decide to purchase a chair on your first visit, that’s fantastic. The sooner you start using it, the sooner you will begin managing your headaches more effectively. However, if you choose to take some time to process what you’ve experienced and return another day to buy your chair, your Comfort Consultant is happy to assist you at that time. 

So, if migraines or other headaches are adversely affecting your quality of life, we encourage you to learn how regular massage chair sessions can significantly reduce your pain and improve your health and happiness.