Can Massage Help My Eye Twitch?

It can appear out of nowhere; one minute, you’re carrying on like normal. Suddenly, you feel the muscles in your eye start to spasm. An eye twitch! Where did that come from? It may be a one-time thing. Or, it could continue to happen and you start to wonder, “Is there something wrong with me?” Don’t panic! An eye twitch, while common (they happen to all of us every now and then), has an identifiable cause AND an identifiable treatment: massage! Yes, massage therapy can indeed help alleviate your eye twitch. Let’s take a look at what causes the nuisance of an eye twitch…and how massage can get it to stop.

What Causes an Eye Twitch?

Eye twitches have many causes. More often than not, they are a result of lifestyle choices, such as lack of sleep, exhaustion, stress, allergies, dry eyes, and high intakes of alcohol or caffeine. And futilely trying to rub the eye twitch away probably just makes you even more stressed out and agitated! If any of these accurately describe your life at the moment, then one of them (or even all of them) might be the culprit of your eye twitch.

How Massage Can Help

Eye twitches can drive anyone crazy. Generally, they’re harmless and will go away on their own. But if your eye twitch is causing you to go nuts, then I highly recommend massage; specifically, face lift massage. Why massage, though?

For the same reasons that massage helps improve sleep and decrease stress and muscle tension, I believe that improved circulation can work wonders on the body. Not only does the pressure and release of massage help to carry metabolic waste and lactic waste away from the muscles, but it also gets the blood moving through congested areas (like tightened muscle and tissue). This ultimately leads to a boost of endorphins (happy chemicals!) and a looser, more relaxed area of the body.

I’ve had first hand experience with how beneficial massage can be for an eye twitch. Recently I had a client ask if massage would alleviate her eye twitch, which she had been experiencing for weeks. I gave her a face lift massage and the twitch immediately went away. She said it came back a few days later, so she came in for another session. After a week, it had not returned! I instructed her how to do some daily face massage on herself, which allows her to keep the eye muscles loose, improve circulation to these areas, and generally help the eyes to relax.

I also suggested she do some sort of relaxation, such as meditation or yoga, which I also believe will help destress you and improve any fatigue you might be experiencing. You might also need to cut back your intake of caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol in order to see if they are causing your eye muscles to spasm. And get plenty of rest!

How to Do Face Lift Massage at Home

Here are a few tips for massaging your own face. Try doing this once a day, ideally before you go to bed:

• Wash and dry your face and hands before beginning the massage
• Massage your entire face, using all of your fingers to make circles, starting in the center and moving outward.
• Start light and increase pressure as the tissue loosens up.
• Spend extra time on areas that have wrinkles or lines
• Linger on and hold points that are sore or tight
• Lightly pinch the eyebrows for tension relief

If you do not use oils or lotions, you will get some exfoliation and will have an easier time finding the tight areas. If you would rather use oils or lotions, it is good to do it at night before you go to sleep.

Closing Thoughts

In some rare instances, an eye twitch could be the symptom of a benign blepharospasm, pinkeye, Bell’s palsy, Parkinson’s Disease, or Tourette’s Syndrome…but this is very rare. If your eye twitch won’t go away after a few weeks, or you notice swelling or discharge, go see your doctor. Chances are you might be in need of medical treatment. But generally speaking, an eye twitch is a harmless nuisance that can be treated with gentle face massage, one less cup of coffee a day, and a good night’s sleep. Contact me to schedule your massage session and get rid of your eye twitch for good!