The Right—And Wrong—Way to Approach Working Out With Migraine

Migraine and exercise have a somewhat…complicated relationship. That’s because there’s really no one-size-fits-all approach: Some workouts can improve symptoms and help mitigate certain triggers, like an inability to sleep well. Others might actually cause a throbbing head and nausea.

Roughly 30% of individuals with migraine could have an exercise-triggered attack in some unspecified time in the future, and that causes a number of folks—understandably, because who likes pain?—to stop that sport or activity due to it. If that is you, it’s still price trying to search out the best of fitness routine because there’s a possible mountain of excellent things that might occur when you can get it right. Exercise releases endorphins, hormones which can be often considered the body’s natural painkillers, Moises Dominguez, MDa neurologist at Weill Cornell Medicine, tells SELF. Plus it may well lead to raised sleep and positive feelings that will lower stress, anxiety, and depression in individuals with this chronic neurological condition. “Exercise is an element of the holistic approach to managing migraine,” Dr. Dominguez says. Here’s how you can get the entire great stuff and not one of the bad, in keeping with experts.

1. Take a slow and regular approach.

With migraine, it’s essential not to only dive right into exercise. “The key’s knowing when to say when,” Marty Fontenot, DPTa board-certified orthopedic clinical specialist and associate professor of physical therapy at Mary Baldwin University in Staunton, Virginia, tells SELF. When you go full-force right into a workout—particularly high-intensity aerobic activities like running or indoor cycling—your body uses more oxygen and loses water quickly, which could potentially cause issues.

2. Log how you are feeling along the way in which.

One solution to determine what works best for you? Start a log. “I at all times recommend that my patients keep track of the particular exercises that were related to the onset of a migraine attack,” Dr. Dominguez explains. For example, when you know that greater than half-hour of movement tends to guide to move pain, trade longer in-person classes for at-home streaming sessions you’ll be able to control. If specific moves, like, say, burpees or heavy squats, cause issues, note that so you’ll be able to avoid them (or tweak the way in which you go about it). Also, don’t forget to notice other migraine triggers—say, blaring music or terrible lighting situations, like pulsing strobes and flickering fluorescent bulbs. (Another case for sweating it out at home, where you’ll be able to control all these things.)

Because everyone—and their triggers—are different, Dr. Dominguez says it’s also a very good idea to put in writing down or record other things that occur before or after your workout—like when you had a crappy night’s sleep, didn’t get a likelihood to eat lunch, or had a stressful day of labor that made you need to go to the gym in the primary place—so you’ll be able to begin to see patterns and hopefully higher understand what’s happening and why.

3. Strategically pick your exercises.

A 2022 meta-analysis of nearly 1200 individuals with migraine found that strength training was a very good selection when it got here to improving symptoms, and aerobic exercise was one other sensible option. The key, nevertheless, is to maintain things light: Increase your effort little by little, and slow things down (or peel off weight) the second you begin to feel iffy, Dr. Dominguez says.

Additionally, workouts that put you in a more meditative space, like yoga (which wasn’t included within the above study) may additionally help. That’s since it helps combat stress, which is a significant migraine trigger. Some research has shown that each yoga and medicine combined will be more practical than using drugs alone. Another small study of girls found that tai chi can potentially in the reduction of on attack frequency.