Exercise to alleviate migraine

Gothenburg, March 29: Exercise induces headache, and yet it's that very exercise that could be the most effective way to stop your headaches. A new Swedish study refutes the commonly held belief that exercise aggravates the frequency and intensity of a migraine attack.

Migraine patients are afraid to exercise, petrified that it may bring on the pounding pain that could last for hours. However researchers believe that a moderate aerobics program can lessen the frequency and intensity of the migraine when it occurs.

Dr. Emma Varkey, of the Cephalea Headache Centre in Gothenburg, Sweden, co-author of the study says, “While the optimal amount of exercise for patients with migraine remains unknown, our evaluated program can now be tested further and compared to pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments to see if exercise can prevent migraine.”

The program was based on indoor cycling for continuous aerobic exercise. The research examined 26 migraine sufferers before, during and after an exercise regime, three times a week during a twelve week study.

After the experiment there was a significant increase in the patient’s oxygen uptake. It was believed that cycling increased oxygen uptake in the body, improving it from 32.9 mL/kg/minute to 36.2 mL/kg/minute. Only one person had a migraine headache as an outcome of exercise.

It was observed that the patients had fewer headaches. The aerobic exercise designed to increase oxygen uptake improved their quality of life, decreasing the need for medication. During the period of the study there was no deterioration of migraine in the patients. On the contrary, the last month of treatment showed a slump in the number of migraine attacks.

Though more research is needed, it is safe to say that the study advocates that staying fit with regular exercise may help manage headaches, unless a person is suffering from very chronic headache. However, continuous and strenuous exercise may in fact precipitate migraine headache, so it is vital to choose the right type of exercise.

Migraine is a neurological syndrome characterized by headaches and nausea a condition more common in women. Symptoms of migraine headache vary from person to person. Some experience migraine headache often in a month with the ache persisting for nearly three days.

The study has been published in Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain.