The sport I play the most is football (soccer). I don’t excercise regularly, but am not excessively unfit. When I play football it tends to be quite intense, but I warm up and warm down. I don’t eat much beforehand but drink normally. I rehydrate as soon as possible afterwards but don’t tend to eat for a while.
I can’t remember when I started getting these headaches, but I remember that I didn’t used to have them when I was 10 or so. I very rarely get headaches at other times nowadays, but used to have more when I was younger.
These headaches usually appear between 30 minutes and an hour after finishing excercise. When I play sports other than football I’m less likely to get the headaches, but the excercise tends to be less intense. It is rare that I can play football for more than an hour without ending up with a headache, but can get one after playing for as little as 20 minutes. The headaches do not respond to paracetamol and usually last for 2-3 hours. Their disappearance does not seem to be related to eating or drinking, but I wouldn’t discount it.
OK, that might have been a little more than a little… Sorry!
Bonus question:
Have you got any good headache remedies that might be worth trying?
The only novel one I’ve come up with is to put Olbas oil on my forehead, which feels icy cold as it evaporates. It takes your mind off the pain, even if it doesn’t remove it.
What type of headache is it? Does it appear to be related to muscle tension. Or does it come on suddenly? Is is more of a pressure type headache?
I found that if I get a headache after working out it is generally I was lazy and used improper lifting technique. Therefore it was a muscle tension thing.
Take naproxen sodium. I have played soccer my entire life and have felt similar headaches. It doesn’t have to do with hydration, take my word on it. Something you may be overlooking is posture, if you do not have good posture and do a lot of running around, it basically rattles your spine, and thus creates a headache, but naproxen has always been a key feature in my aftergame nutrition. Something to prevent headaches in the first place…remember eating oranges at halftime when you were a little athelete? I have found that this short burst of sugar helps prevent the symptom before it occurs. Don’t ask how or why…i’m not sure. I’m just saying, I empathize, and I know EXACTLY how it feels. So give it a shot, if all else fails, take up ping pong or something else less strenuating…ha ha. just kidding.
In addition to rehydrating afterwards (a very good move), you might want to try prehydrating by drinking a fair amount of water before the game. If you can drink water during the game that’d be good too.
You can also have electrolyte imbalances, although that’s more likely to make you feel dizzy after you work out than just headachey. You could try drinking orange juice or Gatorade after exercise instead of just water.
I get this type of headache after a particularly intense workout as well. I second the Gatorade (or sport drink of your choice). I find it’s more effective at preventing the headache than plain water.
There was a really cool article a few weeks back in the Chicago Tribune Magazine where a doctor who had headaches during and after exercise found out they were caused by an aneurysm. Unexplained headaches are a good reason to consult a real doctor.
You might want to try starting a more regular exercise program. I used to get headaches whenever I restarted exercising after a lay-off, particularly if it was in the summer and hot. Now that I’ve joined a team (rowing) and have at a minimum three 1.5 hour workouts a week, I never get headaches.
I have personal experience with this, or at least something similar. In my case the headache is actually a migraine caused by the expansion of blood vessles in my brain after exercise or long exposure to the sun. As they expand they push on the surrounding tissue and cause a nasty, pulsing headache in time with my pulse which can last for days. I used to get Midrin prescribed for the pain but haven’t had one in quite some time.
This was a, “Hey I have the same thing!” thread. It’s very annoying and painful. I have resorted to just popping a couple of T3’s when it happens, but I think I’ll take the advice that’s being offered here too!
My vote’s for dehydration. Most people don’t drink enough water througout the day, and get headaches because of it. Anytime I get a headache (which isn’t that often), I drink as many glasses of water as I can stand, that takes care of it. Haven’t taken a pain pill in years.
I’m going to try some sports drinks before I go for any form of prescription medicine. I think that’s a little over the top WoMackdaddie, but if it’s works for you and you’ve had no problems then well done.
I know I should excercise more regularly - I tell myself so every other day as a substitute - but I’m probably not going to get round to it soon. Tremorviolet, I have rowed in the past and did excercise more regularly as result. I did get fewer headaches but didn’t enjoy it, so that’s probably not going to happen again. Ping pong, on the other hand, or table tennis as we call it here, is a great sport
