How to Prevent and Treat Exercise Induced Headaches

I used to think my head could predict the weather, sometimes my headaches would come a day before the clouds. Then I moved to Los Angeles where the weather was perfect every single day. I thought maybe it was the heat or the sun or the smog that caused my headaches. The only cure for my headaches was an over-the-counter migraine medicine.

Years passed, I moved back to the east coast and had a job with irregular hours. With my traditional nine-to-five job, I went to the gym in the evening. With my new job I had the opportunity to work out in the morning. Day after day, I began experiencing headaches each afternoon. I changed my diet, watched my caffeine intake, cut out alcohol, but still the headaches came. I'd pop a migraine pill and hope for the best.

I finally figured out that my headaches began almost exactly four hours after my workouts. I began taking a baby aspirin before each session and, miraculously, my headaches disappeared.

When I got pregnant I had to stop taking aspirin and migraine medicine. I continued to work out during my pregnancy but the daily exercise induced headaches in addition to morning sickness were too much to bear. Tylenol just didn't cut it. So I had to quit working out during my pregnancy.

When I recently began a fitness routine again, the exercise induced headaches returned. I decided to learn all about exercise induced headaches and what can be done about them.

What Causes Exercise Induced Headaches?
Believe it or not, the causes of exercise induced headaches are unknown. Doctors speculate the blood vessels in the head dilate during strenuous activity causing headaches.

There are some criteria that make exercise induced headaches more likely to occur.

First, of course, is family history. People who have relatives with headache problems are more likely to experience exercise induced headaches. Men in their 20s are more likely than other groups to suffer from exercise induced headaches and hot weather and high altitudes are also thought to contribute to exercise induced headaches.

How Can I Prevent Exercise Induced Headaches?
One of the easiest ways to prevent exercise induced headaches is to start with a good warm up. Spend some time stretching all your muscle groups before your workout. Walk at a medium pace for about ten minutes before increasing activity. The same goes for the end of your workout, don't just stop cold turkey. Bring your heart rate back down gradually and finish with another round of stretching.

You may also notice that certain activities are more likely to bring on headaches than others. If you are able to pinpoint which ones trigger exercise induced headaches, you'll be able to modify your routine in the future so you won't have to endure the pain.

Treatments For Recurrent Exercise Induced Headaches
When headaches come on suddenly, or if they're accompanied by vomiting or other side effects, see your doctor. He may want to perform a magnetic resonance imaging exam (MRI) to make sure there are no structural or vascular problems inside your brain. If everything looks normal, he may have you take medication before an anticipated fitness activity. That was the solution for me, a baby aspirin before the workout made my afternoons much more comfortable.

Your doctor may prescribe an anti-inflammatory drug or a blood pressure medication to be taken daily to prevent exercise induced headaches.