Exertion Headache

Exertion Headache - Exercise headaches occur during or after sustained, strenuous exercise. Some activities associated with exercise headaches include running, rowing, tennis, swimming and weightlifting.

Doctors divide exercise headaches into two categories. Primary exercise headaches are usually harmless, aren't connected to any underlying problems and can often be prevented with medication.

Secondary exercise headaches are caused by an underlying, often serious problem within the brain — such as bleeding or a tumor — or outside the brain — such as coronary artery disease. Secondary exercise headaches may require emergency medical attention.

Exertion headaches are also called activity-related headaches. They share symptoms with migraines triggered by physical activity and cough headaches. Cough headaches are more common than exertion headaches.

Exertion headaches usually strike in younger people, from adolescence through age 50. This type of headache usually occurs with lengthy exercise sessions. The headache usually pops up at the height of exercise and the pain typically fades when the exercise stops. However, in certain cases the exertion headaches can last up to two days. Exertion headaches can also have symptoms similar to migraines, such as nausea and vomiting, sensitivity to light and sensitivity to sound.

Exertion Headache

Symptoms

Primary exercise headaches

These headaches:

• Are usually described as throbbing
• Occur during or after strenuous exercise
• Affect both sides of the head in most cases

Secondary exercise headaches

These headaches may cause:

• The same symptoms as primary exercise headaches
• Vomiting
• Loss of consciousness
• Double vision
• Neck rigidity

Primary exercise headaches typically last between five minutes and 48 hours, while secondary exercise headaches usually last at least a day and sometimes linger for several days or longer.

When to see a doctor

If you experience a headache during or after exercise, consult your doctor. Call your doctor right away if the headache begins abruptly or if it's your first headache of this type.

What causes Exertion Headaches

Increased blood pressure in the blood vessels of the brain, which is called venous pressure. Primary exertion headaches are harmless. However, any underlying cause of the headaches must be ruled out first to ensure a more serious condition isn’t causing the pain. The International Headache Society requires that possible more serious problems are ruled out before diagnosing harmless primary exertion headache. See your doctor if you suffer from exertion headaches so that all other possible conditions can be ruled out.

Many times, with more serious disorders, the head pain is made worse by exercise but if the headache is actually caused by the exercise it is more likely to be a harmless exertion headache.

Exertion headaches are triggered by exertion or physical activities such as:

• Weight lifting
• Playing tennis
• Running, particularly long distances
• Rowing
• Swimming
• Scuba diving
• Sexual activity

Other factors that contribute to exertion headaches include:

• Poor nutrition
• Drinking alcohol
• Heat
• High humidity
• Change in the barometric pressure
• Exercise at high altitudes
• Caffeine
• Low blood sugar

People who suffer from exertion headaches often suffer from migraines or have a family history of migraines.

Diagnosing Exertion Headaches

The International Headache Society defines Exertion headache as:

• A pulsating or throbbing headache with the characteristics listed in B and C
• Head pain lasts five minutes to 48 hours
• Headache is brought on by and only happens during or after physical exertion
• Headache is not caused by another disorder

When exertion headache first appears, a doctor must first run tests to ensure the pain isn’t caused by the very serious conditions: subarachnoid hemorrhage and arterial dissection.

Exertion Headache Treatment

An exertion headache is usually harmless, but in rare cases it can red-flag brain aneurysm symptoms or a brain tumor.

If you experience your first exertion headache very abruptly, contact your doctor for advice. If you have other brain aneurysm symptoms or a family history of brain aneurysms, your doctor may order imaging tests such as a CT scan or magnetic resonance imaging to check that all is well.

If there is no underlying reason for your exertion headaches, try taking a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn) 30 minutes before exercise sessions. Your doctor also may prescribe another NSAID called indomethacin (Indocin), which also is used for ice pick headache treatment.

Indomethacin must be taken sparingly, particularly if you have heart disease, since long-term use is associated with a greater risk for heart attack and stroke. It also has been linked to eye problems, so if you take it, you should have regular eye exams. Furthermore, your gastrointestinal health may be affected by taking indomethacin, so if your doctor prescribes it, he or she may recommend that you also take an antacid such as omeprazole (Prilosec).

Preventing Exertion Headaches

There are no hard-and-fast rules for preventing exertion headaches, but there are some tips you can follow alongside the practice of taking a painkilling drug before you exercise.

First, you definitely should not stop working out just because of your tendency to develop exertion headaches, since physical activity is important for helping to preserve your cardiovascular health and bone density, and also may help protect you against depression. But do take the time to warm up slowly before you exercise, as opposed to launching straight into vigorous activity. You can warm up by taking a few minutes to do some stretches, and by marching or jogging on the spot while circling your arms at the shoulders. It is also important to cool down after exercising—you can do this with stretches, and with step-touching from side-to-side as your heart rate begins to slacken.

When you do begin your workout proper, don’t make too sudden a transition from your warming-up session to strenuous exercise moves. Instead, ease in gradually. If you enjoy lifting weights but have noticed that you frequently suffer from exertion headaches while engaged in weightlifting, try lifting lighter weights. Recent research suggests that combining lower weights with more reps may be just as effective for muscle-building as lifting heavier weights with fewer reps.

Be sure that you’re drinking sufficient fluids while exercising, since dehydration has been implicated in exertion headaches, and you’ll be losing more fluids than usual through perspiration. You have likely heard the advice to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water each day; this amount should keep you on track with the Institute of Medicine’s recommendations for fluid intake. However, think in terms of fluids, not just water. Your eight glasses can include fruit juices, tea, and coffee (though keep in mind that the last two have a diuretic effect that causes you to lose fluids overall).

Also, keep in mind that if you’re exercising hard, you’ll sweat more and might in fact need more fluids to help prevent exertion headaches than the recommended eight glasses—particularly if you’re exercising outdoors in hot and humid weather.

Source : 

www.migraine.com

www.mayoclinic.org

www.universityhealthnews.com

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