Is Running a Natural Cure for Recurrent Headaches and Migraine?
I have suffered from headaches of varying severity throughout my life. The worst ones were the real blinding migraines accompanied by tunnel vision, bright auras and nausea. I’ve put these down to a number of different factors.
I noticed, for example, that changes in environment (such as moving office workspace location at work) seemed to trigger some of the worst attacks over a period of a few weeks. I mitigated this by trying to be as near as possible to natural light wherever I was moved.
Not surprisingly, I have always considered alcohol to be the major contributor to many of my headaches. However, they continued for a period after I quit drinking alcohol, albeit to a lesser extent. After researching why this could be, I tried eliminating drinks that contained the chemical Aspartame. It was at this point that my headaches stopped almost entirely! Needless to say, I was convinced that Aspartame was a large contributory factor.
Since then, and for the last few years I have suffered very few headaches, and no blinding migraines at all. So it appeared to me that all of my conclusions were correct – until recently.
Around three months ago I started getting headaches again – two or three days each week. The migraines were starting to reappear too. On the scale of things, the migraines were relatively mild, but they were increasing in severity and still incapacitated me for a couple of hours. I visited my family doctor for blood tests, but he could subsequently offer little help beyond what I had heard in the past.
Then the penny dropped.
The recent spell of headaches had commenced at roughly the same time that I had stopped running and was no longer taking part in any form of physical activity. Could it be that a lack of exercise was the cause of the headaches? Even my partner commented that it may not be pure coincidence. Thinking back to the time when I began avoiding drinks containing Aspartame, it was also the same time that I began exercising! For sure, I have subsequently consumed drinks containing the chemical from time to time with no noticeable adverse effect relating to headaches (notwithstanding the possibility of other health detriment – I do still try to avoid artificial sweeteners).
Just under three weeks ago I resumed running and have continued with the activity for four days each week. Since then I haven’t suffered a single headache – not even a mild one! Needless to say, I am utterly convinced now that there is a link between an inactive lifestyle and headaches. Previously, I had never heard of the possibility that such an association existed. Surely there must be some sort of research into this phenomenon? Well, yes there is.
A study was published as recently as November/December 2008 in “Headache” entitled “Socio-Economic Factors, Lifestyle, and Headache Disorders – A Population-Based Study in Sweden”. The study was based on 43,770 respondents to a postal survey questionnaire to look for factors associated with recurrent headaches and migraines. In the results and conclusion they state
“Physically inactive subjects were more likely to suffer from headache disorders than physically active subjects.”
“Of lifestyle factors, physical inactivity was strongly associated with headache disorders independent of economic and psychosocial factors.”
This is a complete revelation to me, and I find it one of the most exciting pieces of news that I have found. There is nothing more frustrating than to suffer severe recurrent headaches that are beyond your control. However, I firmly believe that I now have some control and have it within my power to prevent my life being blighted by migraine.
If ever there was a reason to take up some form of physical activity and make it part of your lifestyle, then this has to be up there with the best. I hope you will join me in taking control of your life. I have tips, advice and a training diary to show you how I implement heart rate monitor training into a structured running program, so that you can try it for yourself. You can find my articles on the Women’s Heart Rate Monitor blog. And before you ask….. yes it’s okay for men to follow the methods too!
September 26 2009 01:00 pm | Womens Heart Rate Monitor
September 29th, 2009 at 8:54 am
I read your article on migraine’s and physical activity, and would deffinatly agree with you ,
I found that out some years ago,I started with Migrain’s just after my son was born,then when my son was 11yrs old i decided to start going to the Gym to get fit, I was a Gym fanatic went every morning running,and suddenly realised i was’nt having any migrain’s , and that’s how it is, if i dont go out running for a week or so the Migrain;s come back,
So yes i do agree, with you
September 29th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
My headaches and migraines also took a week or two to return. This was one of the reasons I didn’t make the connection immediately. I’d love to know how much exercise is needed on a regular basis simply to prevent further attacks. I don’t intend to experiment, though, so I’ll leave it to the boffins
January 15th, 2010 at 1:15 am
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