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A Reader Answers: Can Exercise Help With Migraines?

Fit Community — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:52:16 PST

FitSugar reader JessicaSmithTV wanted to know: can exercise help with migraines? She asked an expert and posted the answer in our Fit Community.

Today's post comes to us from special guest contributor and medical expert Paul Rizzoli, MD, Assistant Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School:

When you’re prone to migraines you’re forced to think through whether or not something you do will invite a headache into your life. Exercise is definitely one of those things. Should you skip a workout because you feel a migraine coming on? Or is it better to push through in the hopes a little sweat will make you feel better?

Most headache specialists recommend exercise and an increase in overall physical activity to their patients. However, to date, there’s skimpy evidence to support the idea that working out actually guards against migraine attacks. A few studies have shown that taking regular exercise can reduce the severity, though not the number of headaches.

Keep reading to see what studies say about exercise and migraine relief after the break!

Prevent Migraines With Magnesium

FitSugar — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 03:00:03 PDT

When I asked my doctor about ways to prevent migraines, she recommended I take a magnesium (oxide) supplement. I headed to my closest drugstore and picked up a bottle of Nature's Bounty Magnesium supplement (500 mg), and I've been taking one pill every morning for the last few weeks.

Even though it's been less than a month, since taking the mineral supplement I've been headache and migraine free! This even includes the times that I've had red wine, which is one of my triggers. In the last few months I've also been incorporating foods that prevent migraines into my diet, like topping my yogurt and fruit with ground flaxseed. But I didn't notice a drastic change until I started taking magnesium. Have you tried any supplements to rid you of your ailments? Any other tips for saying goodbye to migraines?

Got Headaches? Could Be the Weather

FitSugar — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 12:00:00 PDT

I've always wondered if weather-induced headaches are an old wives' tale, and I'm not the only one. A group of medical researchers in Boston recently conducted a study of 7,000 emergency-room patients to see if weather really could cause migraines. Turns out, it can, but differently than you might think.

According to NPR, a study published in the new issue of Neurology found that spikes in temperature often cause headaches. The researchers studied 7,000 patients suffering from both migraines and unspecified headaches, and for both groups, a big uptick in temperature correlated with a higher incidence of headaches. But what about that other common headache culprit, barometric pressure? To find out,

read more. Though the correlation between headaches and barometric pressure was weaker, the docs did notice that headaches were often preceded by low barometric pressure in the days before a hospital visit. Humidity and pollution variables, at least in this study, didn't seem to matter. Here's more:

According to the findings, on the days of the hospital visits the air temperature tended to be warmer. In fact, for every 9 degrees Fahrenheit increase in temperature, [Dr. Kenneth] Mukamal found a 7.5 percent increase in the risk of a headache severe enough to provoke a trip to emergency room. . . . It's not that the hotter it was, the more likely patients were to have a headache, Mukamal stresses. Rather, it is the temperature increase that matters.

I've definitely gotten headaches when the weather suddenly gets warmer, so I find this news pretty enlightening. How about you? Source

Women's Brains and Migraines

FitSugar — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 02:00:00 PDT

It is no secret that the female brain is different than its male counter part. It seems these differences are giving us headaches, and I mean that literally. Women are 3 times more likely to suffer from migraines. A recent study proved that it isn't all in our heads (figuratively speaking).

Advances in brain imaging technology now suggest that migraines may start as a result of brain excitability. People with migraines show dramatic waves of brain activity that spread across the surface of the brain. This activity is thought to trigger not only the severe pain associated with migraines but also the visual symptoms, dizziness, and difficulty concentrating often associated with migraines. Researchers believe many factors, like genes, hormones, and environmental triggers like stress, diet, and
changes in sleep patterns, may contribute to migraines in both sexes.

For further reading on this topic, check out the article Why Women Have More Migraines than Men at the Science Daily.

Source

Let's Get to the Point About Acupuncture

FitSugar — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 03:54:27 PST

Acupuncture may be thousands of years old, but how it works remains a mystery to Western doctors. However, they do know that it does work for some ailments. Studies indicate that it may provide a number of medical benefits - from reducing pain to helping with chemotherapy-induced nausea.

A Mayo Clinic report states:

Because of the difficulty of conducting valid scientific studies of acupuncture - numerous past studies have been proved inadequate - it's hard to create a definitive list of the conditions for which acupuncture might be helpful. However, preliminary studies indicate that acupuncture may offer symptomatic relief for a variety of diseases and conditions, including low back pain, headaches, migraines and osteoarthritis. In a 2006 Mayo Clinic study, acupuncture significantly improved symptoms of fibromyalgia.

Having grown up with Western medicine, acupuncture seemed more than a bit "woo-woo" to me. But having seen several Pilates clients and friends benefit from regular acupuncture for treating pain, dealing with PMS issues, migraines and chemo side effects, makes me a believer. Check out Acupuncture.com to find a practitioner near you.

5 Foods That Fight Migraines

FitSugar — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 10:35:43 PDT

If you're a migraine sufferer like me, you are constantly looking for prevention ideas. Depending on what your triggers are - wine, cheese, chocolate, etc. - you may spend most of your time focusing on what not to eat, in addition to other measures like getting enough sleep, exercising, and avoiding stress. But how about foods that help, not hinder, your headache woes? You're in luck, because I've rounded up five foods that help prevent migraine misery.

5 Carry-On Packing Tips You Should Know

GeekSugar — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 06:01:43 PST

If you're heading back home from a long holiday vacay, you've probably already given airport security some thought. If the thought of long TSA lines triggers a migraine, these tips from the TSA will teach you how to properly pack your gadgets, accessories, and chargers and help you speed through the X-ray line.

Pack in layers. Layer clothes, electronics, then clothes again inside a carry-on so the TSA agent can quickly see what's in there. This strategy also works better than the cram-everything-in-your-bag strategy once you unpack at your destination.

Check out the rest of the tips, including how to wrap your cords, and what kinds of bags are TSA-friendly after the break.

Work From Home or Take a Sick Day? Here's How to Decide

Anna Monette Roberts — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 07:34:26 PST

Modern technology makes it easier to transport our work to home, which can be a blessing when you wake up with a nasty cough but aren't sick enough to skip out on work. Here are a few tips to help you know when you should work from home or when you should take a sick day and rest.

Work from home if you have:

Nasal congestion, headaches, sneezing, coughing, or a runny nose: Nothing is worse than sharing a desk with someone who is persistently coughing, sniffing, sneezing, and blowing their nose. Not only is the sound annoying, but it's repulsive to think that each time you cough or sneeze, you are potentially spreading your germs all around the room. If your energy levels are OK, work from home until your nose blowing and coughing calms down. Since you are the most contagious the first two days, make a point to stay home during this period as a courtesy to your colleagues. Keep in mind that if your cold has zapped your energy levels down to zero, give yourself a day or two to rest.

Find out when you should take a sick day.

Group Therapy: Feeling Desperate to Get My Ex Back

Tres Community — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 03:05:24 PST

This question is from a Group Therapy post in our TrèsSugar Community. Add your advice in the comments!

He is 24 and I am 22. He is a PhD student. I am a Bachelor student. We were together for three years. My boyfriend and I just broke up two months ago and this was the third time breaking up. The reason was me. After I read your articles, I just found out that I was needy, pushy, controlling, and obsessive. (I wish I found out this blog earlier.) I had improved myself, but since he moved out from his house and started to live by himself, he became super busy. He has to work and/or study seven days a week and had so little time for me. Because of this, I began to be more needy, pushy, controlling, and obsessive. I wanted to see him as much as I can but he often said that he was too tired from work or he has to read books for his thesis and it made me angry and sad because I felt that he didn't love me as much as I loved him. We fought every week and finally he broke up with me. He said that I added more stress to his life which was stressful already. His migraine which had gone away for 10 years came back. He felt guilty that he didn't have time for me.

After we broke up, we still talk to each other almost everyday. I sometimes ask him to have a dinner, and if he is free, he will come (but mostly he has to work) so I'm mostly refused. I hate that feeling because I always think carefully when I ask him. He never asks me out. I once told him that I wanted to get back with him but he refused and said that he didn't believe me anymore that there would be no big problems like this. He thought that we had broken up and gotten back together two times and that showed that we couldn't get along.

What should I do? How am I going to gain his trust back and get back together? I can feel that he still loves me. I don't know what it is between us and I don't like the feeling but I do like that we are so casual. He said he likes this too. If we are like this, how am I going to be his girlfriend again?

And the most important thing is I don't want to be pushy, needy, controlling, and obsessive. I always find a person to be my only source of happiness. I know that I have to keep myself busy so I hang out with friends a lot and, inattentively, I start to do these habits to one of my best friends. Please help me.

Have a dilemma of your own? Post it anonymously to Group Therapy for advice, and check out what else is happening in the TrèsSugar Community.

5 Carry-On Packing Tips You Need to Know For Thanksgiving Holiday Travel

GeekSugar — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 12:26:54 PST

If you're heading out on a jet plane for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, you've probably already given airport security some thought. If the thought of long TSA lines triggers a migraine, these tips from the TSA will teach you how to properly pack your gadgets, accessories, and chargers and help you speed through the X-ray line.

Pack in layers. Layer clothes, electronics, then clothes again inside a carry-on so the TSA agent can quickly see what's in there. This strategy also works better than the cram-everything-in-your-bag strategy once you unpack at your destination.

Check out the rest of the tips, including how to wrap your cords, and what kinds of bags are TSA-friendly after the break.