Exercise Induced Headaches?

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BrendaKayS
BrendaKayS Posts: 38
in Health and Weight Loss
Every time I work out at decent intensity I leave the gym (or track) with a killer headache. I drink a LOT of water (just a habit of mine) and I eat a small snack after my workout. Other then that does anyone have any ideas on how to prevent these headaches? They are really painful adn it's the ONLY time I ever experience headaches. Kind of defeats the point of working out if it means I have to come home and lay down for 2 hours!
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  • lrk93101
    lrk93101 Posts: 37 Member
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    That happens to me when I get dehydrated. Maybe try drinking a lot of water before working out, as well as during and after. Also if you are doing floor exercises and holding your head up, it could be that your neck muscles aren't quite strong enough yet. Good luck!
  • Edestiny7
    Edestiny7 Posts: 730 Member
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    Electrolytes are absolutely critical to include for proper hydration, optimal performance and prevent dehydration. When you sweat you lose electrolytes including sodium and potassium. It is essential for proper hydration to make sure you put minerals in that you lose when you sweat. I suggested to Brad he make his own sports drink made of 1.5 cups of water, pinch of sea salt, one tablespoon of maple syrup. (Here is another great sports drink recipe from The Healthy Foodie.) Forget the sugar-infused popular sports drinks! And guess what? He never got another headache again!

    Joy McCarthy, Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Health Coach of Joyous Health, loves to inspire others to eat well and live well. Joy is the resident holistic nutritionist at 889 Yonge, a Yoga & Holistic Lifestyle Spa in Toronto. Joy welcomes your questions or comments.

    http://www.thatsfit.ca/2010/02/04/post-workout-headaches-consider-your-electrolytes/
  • sblowes
    sblowes Posts: 66 Member
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    Make sure you're breathing while working out. Don't hold your breath while lifting weight, etc.
  • Nina74
    Nina74 Posts: 470 Member
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    I occasionally get exercise- induced migraines and it is mostly when I am dehydrated. People think they need to drink water after they work out, but that is already too late. Being well hydrated prior to working out is best. I also was going through a period where I was getting headaches on almost of daily basis after working out. Taking ibuprofen 30 mins with a very small snack (i.e. not an empty stomach) also helped.

    Good luck!
  • jamie1888
    jamie1888 Posts: 1,704 Member
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    You could try eating a banana 30 - 60 minutes before you work out. Could be a potassium thing. The banana will also give you some carbs for energy.
  • Alioth
    Alioth Posts: 571 Member
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    Check to see if you're grinding your teeth, locking your jaw, or locking the muscles in your neck/face/shoulder area when you work out. You may be doing it unconsciously. So look at yourself in the mirror while you work out. You might need to wear a mouth guard. Before and doing your workout, try some slow shoulder rolls, relax your jaw, massage your face, roll your head and neck, etc. Also do this after you work out. Try not to hold your breath or let the pressure mount to your head while you're working out.

    All of these things can give you a headache. So can overheating and/or dehydration. So can squinting or sun exposure if you're working outside. If the headaches continue on and on even with no reason for them, talk to your doc. High blood pressure can cause headaches.

    The teeth-grinding/muscle tension headaches I used to get all the time. They hurt wicked bad for hours afterward! I had to train myself to be more aware of my body and to loosen up. I don't get them anymore.
  • TropicalKitty
    TropicalKitty Posts: 2,298 Member
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    Electrolytes are absolutely critical to include for proper hydration, optimal performance and prevent dehydration. When you sweat you lose electrolytes including sodium and potassium. It is essential for proper hydration to make sure you put minerals in that you lose when you sweat. I suggested to Brad he make his own sports drink made of 1.5 cups of water, pinch of sea salt, one tablespoon of maple syrup. (Here is another great sports drink recipe from The Healthy Foodie.) Forget the sugar-infused popular sports drinks! And guess what? He never got another headache again!

    Joy McCarthy, Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Health Coach of Joyous Health, loves to inspire others to eat well and live well. Joy is the resident holistic nutritionist at 889 Yonge, a Yoga & Holistic Lifestyle Spa in Toronto. Joy welcomes your questions or comments.

    http://www.thatsfit.ca/2010/02/04/post-workout-headaches-consider-your-electrolytes/

    A nice natural version is simply coconut water - high potassium, some sodium, and natural sugars.

    OP, do you have elevated/high blood pressure normally? That's something else to consider. When you work out your bp rises more. High bp can influence headaches, too.

    I also agree with making sure you use proper form and don't stress your neck.
  • BrendaKayS
    BrendaKayS Posts: 38
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    I am for sure going to try the homemade electrolyte solution & also wonder about the fact that I don't drink much water before (as I pretty much wake up, grab 1/2 my breakfast and go - I eat the other 1/2 afterward). I do drink during and after but not before. Thanks for all the ideas and tips everyone!
  • eyeballer
    eyeballer Posts: 50
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    The same thing happens to me. I realized just recently that when I take deep even breaths it helps a lot. I guess I was holding my breath. When exercising your muscles take so much oxygen, I guess it forgets about your brain needing it too. :)
  • BrendaKayS
    BrendaKayS Posts: 38
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    Oh I do have high blood pressure, I am on meds and my readings are good now with the meds but that is NOT during my workout. I'm also a teeth grinder (I wear a guard overnight). So now I know tons of reasons why and have to figure out which one it is LOL or maybe it's all of the above!
  • tracybarnhill
    tracybarnhill Posts: 124
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    I get them when I don't eat enough before my workout. Try eating all your breakfast and weight about 10-15 min and drink a good amount of water. I can tell if I did't eat enough, or at all, I will get light headed and a massive headache after words. So eat and drink well before the gym, your burning them off anyways...
  • jimmydeanbakker
    jimmydeanbakker Posts: 333
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    It might be a good idea to have your blood pressure checked too. The blood pressure shoots up during a workout, but it should drop back to normal right after the workout.
  • ProTFitness
    ProTFitness Posts: 1,379 Member
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    I see Splenda in your eating. That has been know to cause severe headaches and more. Consider that to be the problem. Cut it out and If they continue You may want to check with your DR
  • Lisa0711
    Lisa0711 Posts: 1,405 Member
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    I used to have the same problem, but like a few other posters noted, I found out that taking more deep breaths was all I needed to do. When you're working out at a high intensity it's easier to forget to breathe as much as you should. But remember, the harder you're working, the more oxygen your body needs!
  • k8ieP
    k8ieP Posts: 54
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    I had the same happen to me. It was with lifting weights. I was hydrated and was breathing correctly but I would get a sudden onset of extreme pain on both sides of the back of my head. It would throb with my heart rate and decrease over a few hours but lasted for days. I finally decided to go to the doctor about it and was told it could be a brain aneurysm or high blood pressure. My doc was so worried that he sent me to the ER. A CAT scan, MRI, and Lumbar puncture later I was told it wasn't an aneurysm and that these headaches can be cyclical (coming and going in stages) or can be triggered by stress. There is medication for them that you can take before the gym but they usually cause nausea so I opted out of taking them and just waited.
    A month later they were gone and so was a lot of my stress.
    I hope you find out what it is.
  • BrendaKayS
    BrendaKayS Posts: 38
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    Well, I drank the electrolyte solution that EDestiny suggested and within seconds the headache was gone!!!! I mean it was instant. That must be it? I am going to plan on just having some after each of my more intense workouts because now I feel 100% fine!
  • ButterflyJak
    ButterflyJak Posts: 3 Member
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    I know it's a really old item, but if any of you are still on here, thanks for those who mentioned coconut water, I always get headaches a few hours after exercising if I burn more than 500 calories, been trying everything, magnesium tablets, eating bananas, drinking more etc and none of them made any difference until I tried coconut water, first time I've been out for a decent run and not suffered later in the day. Means I can now increase my distance without being hit by a thumping headache.
  • taku240se
    taku240se Posts: 14
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    Crazy, I just started a workout routine this week and started getting a mild headache about 15-20 minutes into a heavy sweat. It's happened every day this week during or soon after working out. I'm unfortunately very familiar with neck induced headaches and it didn't feel like that.

    Great suggestions about getting more potassium and sodium! Now that you all mention it, I've noticed every day I'm low on potassium per MFP, like by half, and a little low on the sodium scale daily as well. I'll try to increase these and hopefully it'll resolve :) I love this forum!
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
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    Take an aspirin right before you work out? *shrugs...

    That's what I would do.

    ETA: didn't realize this was an ancient post...:blushing:
  • JessHealthKick
    JessHealthKick Posts: 800 Member
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    SIMPLE ANSWER: you MUST cool down/warm up properly. I get the exact same thing!

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