Ask someone to describe a tension headache and they will usually do it with their hands before they find the words. A band pulled tight around the forehead. A weight pressing down on the top of the head. And then, almost always, a hand goes to the back of the neck.
That reach is the clue. Tension headaches tend to begin with tightness in the neck and shoulders, which is why many people find massage for tension headaches eases them: not by doing anything clever to the head, but by working the muscles that feed into it. For most people the targeted booking is a back and shoulder massage. If stress is the bigger driver, a slower aromatherapy massage often suits better.
What a tension headache actually is
Healthify, New Zealand's health information site, describes tension headaches as usually beginning with shoulder or neck tension, and feeling like a tight band around the head, a dull ache on both sides, or a heavy weight on top. The tightness can spread through the shoulders, neck, scalp and jaw.
The usual triggers will sound familiar: long working days, poor sleep, the way you sit or stand for hours, and stress or anxiety. None of them is dramatic. They just add up, and the muscles around your head and neck quietly carry the total.
A migraine is a different thing. If your headaches throb, sit on one side, or come with nausea or sensitivity to light and noise, talk to your GP about what they are before you book anything. Massage can feel pleasant between migraines, but it is not a plan for them.
Where the headache really starts
Our therapists tend to look in four places, and the sore one is not always the cause.
- The base of the skull. A cluster of small muscles sits just under the ridge at the back of your head, holding it steady on the top of your neck. When a guest says the headache wraps around from the back, slow thumb pressure here is often the moment the band loosens.
- The tops of the shoulders. The broad slope between neck and shoulder, which spends the day holding your arms up to a keyboard and your shoulders a centimetre closer to your ears than they need to be.
- The jaw and temples. If you clench while concentrating, driving or sleeping, the muscles at the side of the jaw and across the temples work overtime. Many people have no idea they do it until someone asks.
- The scalp. Easy to forget. Tension across the scalp is part of that tight-band feeling, and slow, firm work through it is one of the parts of a session people remember.
If your neck pain is mostly about how you sit, our therapist's guide to desk posture and neck tension covers the set-up and the stretches. This article is about the headache end of it.
"We ask every guest with headaches whether they clench their jaw. A lot of them notice they are doing it while we are asking."
Siri therapist team
Massage for tension headaches: which treatment to book
Back and shoulder massage, the targeted choice
Pressure work focused on the head, neck, shoulders and back, and the treatment on our menu associated with migraines and desk-bound chronic tension. Thirty minutes fits a lunch break and suits a once-a-fortnight habit. Forty-five is the sweet spot for most headache guests, with time to work the shoulders and still give the neck and the base of the skull proper attention. Sixty is for when it has been building for weeks. Our longer guide to the back and shoulder massage in Auckland covers how to fit it into a working day.
Aromatherapy massage, when stress is driving it
If your headaches arrive in the weeks you are wound up, sleeping badly and running on caffeine, the problem is the whole nervous system as much as the neck. Aromatherapy massage is slower and full-body, at light-to-medium pressure, with blended essential oils, and it is the one we suggest when someone needs to come down a gear. If strong scents can set off a headache for you, tell us when you book and ask for a milder blend.
What we would not book
Deep tissue straight into a neck that is already sore. Firm work there can leave you more tender the next day, which is the opposite of the point. Save deeper work for a week when the headaches have settled.
During a headache, or between them?
Whenever you book, give your therapist a quick map at the start: where the headache sits (the back of the head, the temples, behind the eyes, the top), whether one side is worse, whether you clench or grind, and how often it has been happening. Thirty seconds of detail decides whether the session goes on the shoulders, the base of the skull or the jaw.
Many people find massage most useful between headaches, as a way of stopping the neck and shoulders winding back up. During a mild tension headache, gentle work can feel soothing, but say it is brewing when you arrive so your therapist starts lighter. If lying face down makes the pressure in your head worse, tell them early; a change of position or more time on the shoulders can help.
Afterwards, drink a glass of water, give yourself ten minutes before you look at a screen, and do not walk straight back into the meeting that caused it. Healthify also suggests a heat pack across the shoulders and neck, which is a good habit for the evening after.
Small habits between sessions
- Teeth apart, tongue up. Lips together, teeth slightly apart, tongue resting on the roof of your mouth. Check every time you glance at the clock.
- Five slow breaths into your belly. Longer out than in. Three times a day is enough to notice.
- Get up when you have been sitting a long time. Roll the shoulders, look out a window, walk to the kitchen.
- Protect your sleep. Poor sleep is one of the common triggers, and a regular bedtime does more than most people expect.
Our five calm workday rituals are built for exactly this, and none takes more than three minutes. If you find yourself taking painkillers for headaches on most days, talk to your GP or pharmacist: frequent use can keep headaches going.
When a headache needs a doctor, not a massage
Most tension headaches are uncomfortable rather than dangerous. Some headaches, though, are a medical emergency, and massage is never the right response to them.
Call 111 or go to the emergency department for:
- A sudden, very severe headache, the "worst ever"
- A headache with blurred vision, confusion, fever or a stiff neck
- A headache after a head injury, or with vomiting or weakness
- A headache that gets worse with coughing or exertion
- Sudden numbness, weakness or difficulty speaking
See your GP if headaches are new for you, coming several times a week, getting worse or changing pattern, or not helped by the usual painkillers. Healthify's headache overview lists the warning signs in full.
Before you book: Tell us if you have high blood pressure, a heart condition, a recent neck injury or whiplash, or are pregnant, and check with your GP or midwife first. A neck that has been injured needs assessment before anyone works on it.
Prices and where to book
- Back and shoulder, Viaduct: 30 mins $65 · 45 mins $95 · 60 mins $115
- Back and shoulder, St Heliers: 30 mins $60 · 45 mins $85 · 60 mins $105
- Aromatherapy: 60 mins $115 at the Viaduct, $105 at St Heliers; 90 mins $165 or $145
Both spas are open seven days, 10.00am to 8.00pm. The Viaduct, at 1B/124 Customs Street West, suits a lunch hour or straight after work in the CBD; St Heliers, on Tamaki Drive, suits the eastern bays. A 15% surcharge applies on public holidays.
Common questions
Many people find it eases them, especially work on the neck, the tops of the shoulders, the scalp and the base of the skull, where tension headaches usually start. It works best as regular maintenance alongside sleep and breaks, and it is not a substitute for seeing a GP about frequent or changing headaches.
A back and shoulder massage, which focuses on the head, neck, shoulders and back: $65 for 30 minutes, $95 for 45 or $115 for 60 at our Viaduct spa, and $60, $85 or $105 at St Heliers. If stress is behind your headaches, a full-body aromatherapy massage is the gentler alternative.
For a mild, familiar tension headache, gentle work can feel soothing; tell your therapist it is brewing so they start lighter. A sudden, severe or unusual headache, or one after a head injury or with fever, vision changes or weakness, needs medical help: call 111.
Many guests find a 30 or 45-minute back and shoulder session every two to four weeks keeps things from winding back up. If you need one every few days to cope, see your GP to look at what is driving the headaches.
