Headaches After Physical Activity
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Features
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Most exercise headaches are commonly related to activities such as running, rowing, tennis, swimming and weight lifting.
Types
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There are two types of exercise headaches. The first type is benign and can often be treated with a fairly common anti-inflammatory drug. The second type could indicate a serious condition such as a tumor or internal bleeding.
Warning
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Certain medical conditions can cause severe headaches when exercising. If you experience sudden headaches with exertion, Dr. Lawrence Newman, director of the Headache Institute at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York, suggests an MRI to rule out such serious conditions, MedcineNet.com reports.
Expert Insight
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Exercise headaches might also point to heart disease. A group of New York researchers lead by Dr. Richard Lipton of the Headache Unit at Montefiore Medical Center in New York reported in the journal Neurology in 1997 that in a small group of patients, headaches that began during exercise were the only symptom of heart disease, according to MedicineNet.com
Prevention/Solution
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Newman states that activity headache sufferers don't have to give up exercising. Start out slowly with a 10-minute exercise period and gradually increase by 10-minute intervals. Using this process, you should be good to go.
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