Causes of Exertional Exercise Headaches, Exercise Induced Headaches, After Exercise Headache

Exertional, or exercise, headaches are ones that occur during or shortly after strenuous exercise. And this type of headache usually diminishes once you curtail the arduous activity.

The demanding fitness activities that typically cause exercise induced headaches are running, rowing, tennis, swimming and weightlifting. After exercise headaches typically strike those with a familial history of migraines.

Exercise headaches that aren’t connected to a health condition are considered harmless. The primary symptom for benign exertion headaches tend to be throbbing on both sides of your head. And they’re more likely to happen in hot, humid weather or high altitude exercise settings.

It’s generally believed that the cause of inducing a throbbing head is the muscles of the head and neck need more blood when you exert yourself. This causes the blood vessels to dilate and swell inside your skull resulting in an exertion created headache.

Exercise headaches can also be caused by various health conditions, some of which can be serious. These headaches may provide a clue for such issues as:

Aside from a lingering headache, secondary exercise headaches may be accompanied by:

After exercise headache related symptoms that warrants immediate medical attention are:

Exertional headaches that are not instigated by some other condition respond well to standard headache treatment. Try taking your chosen medication an hour or two ahead of commencing your fitness regime.

Tenacious after exercise headaches respond well to indomethacin, an anti-inflammatory requiring a prescription, and propranolol, commonly used to treat hypertension, tremors or chest pain.

You should always have your exercise induced headaches evaluated by your doctor to ensure their cause isn’t a vascular or grey matter problem.

Filed under: Exercise

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