Tension-type headaches are the ones that feel like a tight band or a heavy cap, usually with a stiff neck and tight shoulders underneath. These are the headaches acupressure is best at. Here are the three points I teach most, and how to press them so they actually do something.
How to press a point
Before the points: technique. Most people press too lightly for too short a time.
- Use the pad of your thumb or a knuckle.
- Press firmly enough that it feels achy or “good sore”. Not stabbing.
- Hold for 30 to 60 seconds, breathing slowly. Small circles are fine, but stillness works too.
- Do both sides.
- Repeat two or three times through the sequence.
Point one: the web of the hand (LI4, Hegu)
Find the fleshy mound between your thumb and index finger. With the other thumb, press into the highest part of that mound, angling slightly toward the index finger’s bone. It will feel tender. This is the classic point for headaches and for the face generally.
Do not use this point during pregnancy. It is one of the points we avoid in the clinic for that reason.
Point two: the base of the skull (GB20, Fengchi)
Put your thumbs at the back of your head, just below the base of the skull, in the two hollows either side of the thick neck muscles. Tip your head back slightly into your thumbs and press upward and inward. This is the point for the neck-and-head kind of tension. Most people say “oh, that’s it” when they find it.
Point three: the top of the shoulder (GB21, Jianjing)
Find the highest point of the muscle between your neck and shoulder, halfway along. Hook your opposite hand’s fingers over it and squeeze, or press down with a thumb. It will be tight in nearly everyone who works at a desk. Slow, firm pressure here often takes the edge off a headache more than anything on the head itself.
Like LI4, this point is avoided in pregnancy.
Make it a sequence
Shoulders first, then the base of the skull, then the hands. Two or three rounds. Then heat on the neck and shoulders for fifteen minutes if you have a grain pack, and a glass of water, because a surprising number of tension headaches are partly dehydration.
Tools that help
You can do all of this with your hands. If you want a little help reaching the base of the skull or the shoulders:
Trigger point cane (hook-style self-massager)
The hooked cane reaches the base of the skull and the tops of the shoulders with real leverage. Ugly, cheap and genuinely useful.
- Reaches GB20 and GB21 without straining your hands
- Lets you hold steady pressure for a full minute
- Lasts forever
Acupressure neck pillow
Lying with the base of your skull on a spiked pillow for ten minutes is a lazy, effective version of GB20 pressure.
- Hands-free
- Pairs with the evening wind-down routine
- Good for headaches that start at the back of the head
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A few more things that help
None of these are required. They make the pressing easier to do for a full minute, and they cover the heat step at the end.
Peanut-shaped double massage ballHands-free GB20
Lie on your back with the groove of the peanut under the base of your skull, so the two balls sit in the hollows either side of the neck muscles. Five minutes, slow breathing, no thumbs needed.
- Sits in the GB20 hollows on its own
- Also works along the spine between the shoulder blades
- Small enough to keep by the couch
Please read: Skip this if you have neck injury, dizziness when you tip your head back, or a history of neck instability. Ease off if anything tingles.
Thumb-saver hand-held pressure toolSave your thumbs
A small knob that fits in the palm and takes the strain off your thumb joint. If you get to a minute on LI4 or the shoulder and your thumb gives out first, this is the fix.
- Steady pressure for a full minute without hand fatigue
- Useful for people with arthritic or sore thumbs
- Fits in a pocket or a desk drawer
Please read: Not on the LI4 point during pregnancy; the tool does not change that rule.
Microwavable grain pack for the neck and shouldersThe heat step
The horseshoe shape drapes over the tops of the shoulders and up the neck, which is exactly where a tension headache is being fed from. Fifteen minutes after the points. The full heat guide is on this site.
- Covers GB21 and the neck at once
- Moist, heavy heat that stays put while you sit
- No cord, so you can doze under it
Please read: Skip heat on a headache that feels hot and pounding, or after a head injury. Test the temperature on the inside of your wrist first.
Content on this site is educational and is not a substitute for individual medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Talk with your own healthcare provider before starting any new therapy, especially if you are pregnant, have a medical condition or take medication.