Exercise-Induced Headache (Effort Migraine)

Description

Effort migraine is a severe, intense, incapacitating headache, often accompanied by other symptoms, that occurs after all-out physical effort in various sports, such as running, football, basketball, boxing, wrestling, or soccer. These may be migraines related to exertion or non–migraine-like headaches.

Frequent signs and symptoms

• The nature of such migraine attacks varies among people, and it can vary in one person.

• Symptoms of a classic migraine often appear in a consistent sequence: an initial inability to see clearly may be followed by seeing bright spots and zigzag patterns without any headache. Visual disturbances may last several minutes or several hours, but they disappear once the headache begins, and a dull, driving pain in the temple spreads to the entire side of the head. Pain becomes intense and throbbing and may affect both temples at the same time.

• Nausea and vomiting may accompany a migraine.

• Symptoms may have an onset of a few minutes, hours, days, or weeks after the activity, or they may develop suddenly.

Causes

• Exertional migraine headaches are caused by constriction of blood vessels that go to the scalp and brain, followed by dilation and inflammation. Visual disturbances occur when blood vessels narrow (constrict), and headache begins when they widen (dilate) again.

• Other causes are poorly understood, but migraines are associated with several conditions: minor head trauma that occurs within a week prior, changes in altitude, increases in blood pressure, infection, and withdrawal from certain drugs.

Factors that increase risk

• Sports that involve short, explosive anaerobic bursts (running, swimming, gymnastics, wrestling, fencing)

• Athletics that involve self-criticism and introspection, such as dance, gymnastics, diving, and marksmanship events, such as archery and rifle shooting

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