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Friday, August 19, 2011

Eyestrain & Tension Headache Relief

When I was a proofreader at a publishing house, I would frequently get eyestrain or tension headaches. It didn't matter if I was bending over my desk or scanning the computer screen...when the pain hit, it hit. I would swallow all the over-the-counter stuff my stomach could stand, take a walk, change my posture, drink some water...you get the idea. But as you can guess, it did not get rid of the pain. At one point, the pain was so bad, that I contemplated quitting!

And then I came across a book that talked about pressure points on the body. You work the points to relieve stress, tension and pain. And no side effects. Intrigued, I read on...

To relieve eyestrain and tension headaches, massage all the fingers of both hands, front and back for several minutes.

Well, I did. While it felt good, it didn't relieve my eyestrain or my headache. But it did take the edge off of the pain. I thought that I hadn't massaged my fingers long enough. As I kept working, I noticed that the webs between my fingers were painfully tender. As I massaged the tender skin between my pinky and the ring fingers, I noticed my eyestrain and tension headache going away.

The next time I had an eyestrain and tension headache, I worked the webs between my fingers only. And surprisingly, the eyestrain and headache lifted within a few minutes. In the months that followed, I continued to massage between my fingers whenever I had eyestrain or felt a headache coming on. I shared this tip with my fellow proofreaders and soon everyone on all three shifts were using this technique.

So, I would like to amend the following suggestion:

To relieve eyestrain or tension headaches, do massage the fingers on both hands (for relaxation) and make sure to work the webs between the fingers. If the webs between the fingers are painful or extremely thick and tender, work lightly and diligently until the pain and tenderness are gone. Don't neglect the rest of the hand, either. A good massage of the entire hand can feel great. You'll be relaxed and best of all, pain free!