Can Soaking Your Feet in Hot Water Really Nix a Headache? Here’s What Head Pain Specialists Think

Obviously, relying on medical advice from TikTok isn’t recommended (especially if it’s not coming from a doctor or other health care provider). Still, some home remedies for migraine actually help (more on this later). And while some people turn to traditional migraine treatments like medicine, others might prefer to have options—which is why we've also written about ice water for migraines, meditations for headaches, and eyebrow massage for head pain.

So before you discount the feet-in-heat hack, we asked the experts if there’s any science to back it up. Read on to find out.

Does dipping your feet in hot water help with migraines?

Hydrotherapy (i.e., using warm or cold water to treat health conditions) has been around for eons. “There is a long history of using ice or hot baths to help with migraine,” says Noah Rosen, MD, a neurologist at Northwell Health. That said, there’s “little evidence to support it,” Dr. Rosen adds.

The common belief, especially on social media, is that warm water diverts blood flow to the feet (i.e., away from the head), and this helps to relieve head pain. But Dr. Rosen says this explanation is inaccurate: “The idea that warming the feet draws blood away from the brain is not correct.”

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That’s because it’s based on older theories about migraines, which hypothesized that changes in blood flow to the brain caused migraines. While blood vessels do contract and expand somewhat during an attack, it is not the cause, says Anna Pace, MD, neurologist and assistant professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The main drivers of migraine attacks are electrical activation in the brain and neuroinflammation, she says.

That said, how warm water helps migraines is still “unknown and unclear,” Dr. Rosen says. He theorizes that it may have something to do with the way hot (or cold) temperatures stimulate nerve cells, specifically peripheral pain and light touch receptors. They may modify pain signals somehow, “having a secondary effect on the central nervous system,” he says. The effect may be similar to “peripheral electrical stimulating devices" that help stop and prevent migraines.

Though we still don’t know why hydrotherapy helps migraine, some preliminary research seems to suggest that it does. “Nearly 10 years ago, there was a small study of hydrotherapy where participants had feet and arms in hot water (and then an ice massage of the head) for 45 days,” Dr. Rosen says. He’s referring to a 2016 study in the Journal of Neurosciences in Rural Practice, which found that hydrotherapy reduced the frequency and intensity of headaches in people with migraine.

Though promising, take the results with a bit of caution. The treatment used in the study was pretty rigorous: a way more “intensive experience then simply dipping feet in hot water,” Dr. Rosen says. Plus, it involved a combination of hot and cold therapies, not just hot water soaks on their own. All this to say, you may not have the same success if you just dip your feet in a warm tub (but hey, there's also no harm in trying).

How long to soak your feet in hot water for a headache

As long as you take a few precautions, a hot foot soak is generally safe for most people. “The [main] concern about this is using too hot water where it can cause burns,” Dr. Pace says. (As if head pain wasn’t bad enough, you certainly don’t want to add singed skin to your list of problems.) You can avoid burns by making sure the water temperature isn’t too high and capping your soak to 20 minutes, Dr. Rosen says.

That said, some groups may want to skip the foot soak altogether. “People who are elderly or who have other health conditions (who may be more vulnerable to overheating or dehydration) may be at risk for more concerning side effects,” Dr. Pace says.

This includes people with heart problems. That’s because sudden or prolonged immersion in hot water can spike your body temperature, overheat your body, and tax your heart, according to the Cleveland Clinic. This can create a domino effect, leading to a dangerous rise (or dip) in blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, or, in severe cases, even heart attack.

“Anyone with a heart condition should consider clearance from their physician” before trying this, Dr. Rosen says. If your doctor gives you the “okay,” try it out. Just stay hydrated (keep a bottle of cool water within reach) and watch out for symptoms like dizziness, feelings of faintness, or nausea.

Same goes for anyone with neuropathy (nerve damage) in the feet. If neuropathy has caused numbness in your feet, you may not be able to accurately feel how hot the water is, putting you at higher risk for burns.

Does soaking your feet in cold water for migraine help?

Cold therapy has long been a common home remedy for migraine. It makes sense: Ice packs have a numbing effect, so they can help alleviate head pain.

Compared to hot foot soaks, scientists have also done more studies on cold therapy for migraines. “There is a bit more data for ice packs or ice caps in helping to relieve pain and reduce inflammation when used on the head” or neck, Dr. Pace says.

Case in point: A July 2013 study in the Hawaii Journal of Medicine and Public Health² found that applying a frozen neck wrap at the onset of a migraine headache significantly decreased head pain.

That said, there’s still “no validated data on ice baths or soaking feet in cold water to treat migraine,” Dr. Pace says. So if you want to go the cold therapy route, you’re better off sticking to the science-backed strategies and putting an ice pack on your head or neck.

Other treatments for migraines

While it’s always great to have options for migraine relief, hot foot soaks may be hit or miss for migraine attacks. That said, you might prefer therapies that have a proven track record. Luckily, “there are myriad medical treatments and other nonpharmacologic treatments for migraine that have been shown to be helpful for stopping and preventing migraine attacks,” Dr. Pace says.

Keep in mind: “What may work for one person may not work for another,” she says. And often it’s not one approach, but a combination of things that help. For this reason, it’s important to always “discuss all options with your doctor to find the one that is right for you,” Dr. Pace says.

From home remedies to medication and migraine-specific devices, these migraine treatments are tried-and-true, per the Cleveland Clinic and Drs. Pace and Rosen:

• Over-the-counter, pain-relieving medications like ibuprofen, aspirin, acetaminophen, naproxen, and caffeine are effective if you have mild to moderate migraine symptoms
• Medications to stop migraines can stop or reduce migraine symptoms like pain, nausea, light sensitivity, etc.
• Preventive migraine medications reduce how often and how severe migraines affect you, though you may have to take them on a daily basis
• Medical devices like Nerivio, Cefaly, and Relivion, vagal nerve stimulators, and transcranial magnetic stimulators use electrical pulses/stimulation or magnetic fields to help prevent migraine
• Consistent sleep—lack of sleep is a known migraine trigger
• Ice packs, ice hats, or other cooling devices can help numb and dull head pain
• Certain vitamins and supplements like magnesium, riboflavin, coenzyme Q-10, and butterbur may help prevent migraine attacks
• Biofeedback helps you develop an awareness of tension in your body, so you can reduce it and prevent, decrease, or stop a migraine headache
• Relaxation techniques like yoga can help ease tension and stress, which may contribute to migraines
• Acupuncture may help activate pathways in the brain that can “switch off” pain
• Topical peppermint oil or lavender may reduce migraine intensity, frequency, and symptoms like light sensitivity, nausea, and vomiting
• Botulinum toxin type A injections, AKA Botox, interrupts the pain pathway between the brain and nerves in the spinal cord

When to see a doctor

When it comes to migraines, sometimes DIY approaches simply don’t cut it. After all, migraines aren’t just ordinary headaches—they can cause debilitating head pain that can sideline you for hours (or even days).

If you have any of the following symptoms, it’s best to let your doctor know, per Drs. Pace and Rosen:

• When headache/migraine interferes with your daily life or routine (say, you feel too crappy to go to school or work)
• If your headache/migraine doesn’t respond to over-the-counter treatments
• If your headache/migraine comes with other symptoms like nausea, vision changes, or light sensitivity

In addition to taking a history of your symptoms, your provider may also recommend bloodwork or imaging. These tests will help them get a fuller picture of your problem. “It is always good to know what you are dealing with, and how to treat it optimally,” Dr. Rosen says.

The bottom line

“Unfortunately, there’s no scientific data to suggest that dipping your feet in hot water will help cure migraines,” Dr. Pace says. Still, she acknowledges that “some people do notice improvement in discomfort with heat (or ice) therapy.”

At the end of the day, “think of heat therapies as more comfort measures,” Dr. Pace says. “They may make a patient feel a little less uncomfortable and perhaps more calm.”

So while a hot foot soak is unlikely to stop a migraine attack, per the doctors, it might be another useful tool in your migraine toolbox. Again, for most people, managing migraine takes a combination of tactics. As long as you have medical clearance from your provider, and you follow a few safety precautions, there’s little harm in giving hydrotherapy a go.

—medically reviewed by Smita Holden, MD