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Is Exercise Good or Bad for Migraines?
Here’s what experts know — and don’t know — about physical activity and intense headaches
Corina Froese had her first severe headache when she was 11. “I had never experienced that kind of sensation before. I remember realizing, ‘Oh, this must be what a headache is,’” she says. By the time she was 14, she was vomiting and sensitive to light, sounds, and smells whenever an excruciating migraine ruined her night.
As she entered her twenties the migraines became more frequent (five times a month) and intense, to the point where all she could do was lay down in complete darkness. She tried to identify and avoid her triggers, but nothing seemed to help. She also started working out, eventually finding a high-intensity group fitness class she took once a week. “Within about three classes, I started to notice that, like clockwork, later that afternoon, I’d have a migraine,” says Froese, who was 26 at the time.
She loved the endorphin rush, so the Clearwater, Florida resident managed the resulting pain with a combination of ice on her head, over-the-counter migraine medication, and sleeping. After three years, though, the post-workout migraines were too much. “I have never liked any workout as much as that class, but I just couldn’t continue,” she says. Froese switched to…
