KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Children's Mercy Hospital is using massages to help young patients with their pain.

Megan Miller battled chronic headache pain at an early age and medication alone wasn't enough, KMBC's Kelly Eckerman reported.

"It was excruciating pain to the point if I stepped out into the light, I could not open my eyes and I had to lay down and get under the covers in the dark," Miller said.

Miller was at least old enough to describe her pain and plead for more therapy. But for some children that is not the case.

"A lot of times kids can't verbalize what their pain is. We need to be able to read their signals, read their change in activity, their eating habits. So you almost have to be more perceptive as far as their pain goes," Dr. Joy Weydert said.

More and more studies show that massage can relieve chronic pain and can be especially calming to children on a number of levels, Eckerman said.

"It helps relax muscles, but also decreases heart rate, helps G.I. systems work better and helps the whole body calm down. Other studies have shown that it helps the body release natural endorphins -- the pain relievers our bodies make," Weydert said.

For Miller, adding massage therapy turned things around. She said she has noticed a difference almost immediately.

"I woke up and you could see my face wasn't so tense and eyebrows weren't furrowed. It was amazing," Miller said.

The massage therapy at Children's Mercy is proving so successful that pain specialists are hoping to expand the practice to meet the need.