What To Know About Sinus Massage

Massage helps to reduce the body’s stress and tension. It is a process that involves the control of the soft tissues of the body.

For different body parts pain, there is a different type of massage. But in this article, we will tell you everything related to sinus massage. So that you can reduce the sinus pain in a short time. 

Let’s start the discussion without any further ado.

What Causes Nasal Congestion?

Due to cold or flu, people get the uncomfortable stuffed-up feeling which is known as nasal congestion. Some people also called this situation a stuffy nose.

Due to nasal congestion, you will feel difficulty in breathing as everything gets stuffed up. Nasal congestion causes headaches due to which you can feel tired.

In scientific terms, nasal congestion is known as rhinitis. In the Greek language, the meaning of rhino is nose and the meaning of Itis is inflammation. Therefore rhinitis means nose inflammation. 

Symptoms Of Nasal Congestion

The most common nasal congestion symptom is a stuffy nose. It causes difficulty in breathing. Also, due to inflammation the nasal passages get swollen and restrict the airflow.

Therefore it becomes difficult to breathe through the nose. Furthermore, the inflammation and swelling make it hard for mucus to get out of the nose.

So if you have a stuffy nose then you have nasal congestion.

Causes Of Nasal Congestion

The biggest cause of a stuffy nose is that it increases the thickness of mucus. Tissue swelling is the basic reason for nasal congestion. 

The swelling in the nose happens when blood vessels become dilated in your nasal tissues. So that they can give the nose the immune cell’s response.

To make sure it can fight the virus that enters the body. The following are the two main reasons for nasal congestion. So have a look.

1. Virus

The virus is the main reason for causing flu or cold. Such infection enters the body through the nose directly. The virus starts to get multiplied inside the nasal passage lining when it gets into your system. 

When the body gives response to these infections. It leads to inflammation that causes nasal congestion.

2. Allergies

In addition to the virus, you can face nasal congestion due to specific allergies. All kinds of allergies can make the nose stuffy.

These allergies can be pollen, dust, and pet dander. Due to all these allergies, your nasal tissues can get swollen and lead to nasal congestion.

How To Cure Nasal Congestion Symptoms

The nasal congestion mostly leads to difficulty in breathing. Due to uncomfortable breathing, it becomes difficult to focus on other work that you do.

There is no cure for nasal congestion from the flu or cold. But it is possible to cure the symptoms so that you can relax for some time and focus on work.

Many medicines and syrups are available that can calm these germs. However, it is important to know your infection first before you take any medicine.

The reason is that only with the right medicine can you cure the infection immediately.

How Is Nasal Congestion Related To Sinus?

The sinus is a small network of hollow cavities inside the skull. These cavities open into the nasal cavity, found behind the cheekbones and forehead.

The tissues produce mucus that is inside the sinuses. This mucus drains into the nose. There are some cases when these tissues swell with fluid and become inflamed.

The inflamed sinuses can not properly drain. Due to this mucus and other harmful fluids build up in the nose. The build-up of these fluids results in nasal congestion.

The sinus inflammation that causes a stuffy nose can also cause viral respiratory infections. Furthermore. They can expose the body to allergens or irritants.

What Is Sinus Massage?

It is made to cure sinus pain and congestion. In this massage pressure and heat is applied from the fingers to drain out mucus. It also helps to reduce muscle tension.

In addition, the warmth of the hands results in increasing the area’s blood circulation where you massage. Through sinus massage, you can relieve sinus congestion symptoms.

The sinus congestion symptoms are the following

• runny or stuffy nose
• Facial pressure and pain
• Headache
• Postnasal drainage that flows in the opposite direction and comes back to the throat

You can easily find out whether you have a sinus infection or not. Also, you can cure it by taking regular medicines for congestion.

Sinus Massage Techniques

The easiest type of massage is the one that you can do yourself. Sinus massage is one of the easiest massages. You just have to take a few minutes from your daily routine. Then gently massage the appropriate parts of the face by putting pressure gently.

The normal human body contains 4 pairs of sinuses. Each pair of the sinus is named after the bone where it is found. You can easily massage the pair of sinuses where you feel pain.

The best you can do is to massage all four pairs and feel relaxed. There are three techniques to do sinus massage. So have a look at each technique and make your work easier.

1. Frontal Sinus Massage

This pair of sinuses are found in the forehead’s center on the top of each eye. Following are some steps to do the frontal sinus massage. If you ever feel a headache you can try this massage to get relief.

• In the first step, start to rub your hands gently until they get warm
• Above the eyebrows place your middle and index fingers on the opposite side of the forehead
• In the circular outward motion start to massage slowly. During massage work your way in the outer direction
• Continue to repeat this step for 30 seconds

With frontal sinus massage, you can improve your breathing naturally. You can also reduce the sinus headache. To do so it is better to increase the time of massage from 30 seconds to 1 minute. 

2. Maxillary Sinus Massage

The next sinus massage is the maxillary sinus massage. The maxillary sinuses are found under the cheeks, on both sides of the nose, and over the teeth. Among the four pairs of sinuses, this pair is the largest one.

Following are some steps to do the maxillary sinus massage. So have a look.

• On either side of the nose, keep your index and middle fingers between the cheekbones and the upper jaw
• Massage on this area for about 30 seconds in a circular motion
• To put more pressure, instead of the index fingers. You can try massaging with thumbs

3. Sphenoid And Ethmoid Sinus Massage

On the other side of the skull, you can find the sphenoid sinuses in the sphenoid bone. This bone is located under the pituitary gland, between the eyes, and on the other side of the nose. 

While the ethmoid sinuses are found on the ethmoid bone. This bone is responsible for dividing the nasal cavity from the brain. It means both sinuses are close to each other. Therefore, they have the same massaging technique. So have a look at what are the easy massaging steps.

• Put the index fingers on the top of your nose
• Between the nasal bone and the eye’s corner locate the area
• For about 15 seconds hold strong pressure on the spot by using your fingers
• Now use the index fingers to stroke downward along the side of your nose
• For about 30 seconds continue to repeat the step or until you get relief from the pain

The sphenoid massage also helps in breathing through the nose and reduces headaches. 

Until you get relief from pain completely you can use these 3 massaging techniques. In addition, for better results, you can do some remedies. The best home remedies include warm compression and steam inhalation as they give quick relief.

Sinus Massaging Tips

You can repeat the above three massages until you get relief from the pain. To enhance the sinus massaging techniques following are some tips that will help to reduce pain. Have a look.

• Before massaging, make your hands hot. To make your hands warm, rub them together at high speed so that they can get warm. You can also use a heated-up microwavable hot pack to produce heat
• Place a microwavable hot pack under the neck or the head and lay down when you plan to give yourself a sinus massage
• Use your favorite essential oil for massaging. Just take 2 to 3 drops on your hands and massage the area where you feel pain. To create a quick calming effect use the oil drops below your nose. Make sure the oil does not go inside the nose
• To open up the sinuses quickly you have the option to use menthol-based products. The reason is that these products act as a natural nasal decongestant

How Can You Get Relief From Sinus Pain Except Massage?

You have read the different massaging techniques in the previous section. But here we tell you about the other ways that will help you to get relief from sinus pain.

As compared to massage some people find these ways more effective. The reason is that you do not have to put pressure on the figures to reduce pain. So have a look at the following methods and analyze which of the following techniques suits you.

1. Decongestants

The first method to relieve sinus pain is to use decongestants. These medications work efficiently to relieve both congestion and sinus pain. They reduce the blood flow and swelling in the sinus membrane. You can easily get the decongestants as they are available easily.

2. Nasal sprays

A stuffy nose can get back to its original condition by using nasal sprays. This is because sprays are filled with saline. This saline helps to loosen and make the mucus thin that gets trapped inside the nose.

The best thing is that with time nasal sprays have become advanced. Not some nasal sprays come with a corticosteroid.

This ingredient helps to reduce the sinuses’ inflammation. Also just the decongestants, nasal sprays are available easily anywhere.

3. Nasal irrigation

The third remedy is nasal irrigation. This is a type of personal hygiene. It involves a nasal irrigation device that is sometimes called a Neti Pot. So that you can flush the line solution through your nose.

Many NID’s are safe to use if people carefully take all the precautions. However, the improper use of NIDs can enhance the risk of infection according to the Food and Drug Administration ( Trusted Source).

4. Humidifiers

You may have heard about the word humidifier before. It is a device that helps to enhance the moisture in the air. Therefore, when you increase the indoor humidity it will improve nasal drainage. Due to which mucus can get out of your nose and you can breathe easily.

5. Steam inhalation

Steam is the traditional way of fighting with a stuffy nose. The reason is that steam creates moisture and warmth that can open the nasal passageways.

This will help you by reducing the pressure of painful sinus. Furthermore, a person inhales steam during a hot shower.

How Sinus Massage helps

Massaging is a simple and reliable way to get relief from sinus pain and congestion. Here you put pressure and warmth on the sinus area so that mucus can come out easily.

In addition to the warmth and pain relief, the area’s circulation of the blood increases. There is not huge research about sinus massages but people show effective results.

As compared to the research, the satisfaction of customers is considered important. Therefore, there is no need for huge research to show that sinus massages give great results.

But according to recent research work, with facial massages, you can reduce sinus headache pains. These facial massages are also helpful to men who are suffering from facial congestion.

The best thing about sinus massage is that you can do it easily yourself anytime you want to get relief from pain. So try the massaging methods that we have discussed above to reduce the pain.

Conclusion

The sinus pain starts from nasal congestion. In the early stages, you will only feel difficulty in breathing. Then the situation will start to get worse.

Therefore it is important to protect yourself from the dust and harmful environmental factors that can cause the cold or flu.

So use the medicine when you get a slight cold or flu. But if the case gets worse then try the sinus massages as they help to get mucus out of your body and reduce the pain.