Headaches after PT

[blindside622]

Greeting Rangers and other service members. I have been getting sharp headaches for about the past three weeks. They mainly come on after doing rigorous upper body PT, like elevated pushups and dips. I dont get it everytime though. Could this have to do with blood flow to my head or maybe insufficient hydration? Maybe im just not good enough shape yet. I look forward to hearing your opinions. Thankyou for your sacrifice and hope I to earn my spot in the 75th in the near future.

[RangerX]

. has some good advice (as usual). You'd be surprised how easy it is to forget to breath when exercising. I also personally find that 80% of my headaches come from failure to properly hydrate.

Do you consume tobacco products at all? The reason I ask is that tobacco (primarily nicotine) constricts the blood vessels, which can lead to headaches during exertion, cause eyesight to degrade as well as a host of other potential problems.

[blindside622]

First I want to thank you for your time Ranger . and Ranger X. I try to drink atleast 30-40oz of water 30min to 1hr before work out. I do not smoke or use nicotine products. I stay a way from caffeine as well. I have caught myself not breathing properly ecspecially right before muscle failure. I think between skipping breaths and the strain to get one more umph may be doing it. The headaches definately hinder my desire to keep going. But as soon as I cool down my headache is gone and I am ready to go again.

[RangerX]

Mmmm yeah OK. Your brain likes oxygen. For a reason.

Focus on your breathing for a while, more so then pushing to muscle failure. Once you have consistent breathing during exercise, you will find that you can actually do more. Breath in as you go down, and out as you go up. I had a similar problem when I went to Basic, particularly when doing pushups. One thing that can be tricky is to find the balance of the "right" amount of breathing versus near hyperventilation. When you start out doing pushups, maybe stagger the breaths over every 2-3 pushups since you will be knocking them out much faster, then increase as you start getting tired. This is of course when you are doing a maxout pushup routine versus doing a slow & steady.

If this does not improve your headache situation, you might want to have a chat with a doctor to make sure you don't have an underlying health issue, such as high blood pressure.

[M60]

Strange...I get headaches when I think about PT...


M60

[K.Ingraham]

I'm with M-60. :D

More water, less coffee.

[Baseplate]

Check your blodd pressure before you work out. If it is High before you work out it will get higher during your work out. And possibly causing headaches

[blindside622]

Thank you Rangers for all of your input. I will work on mastering my breathing first. I beleive that is my problem. My blood pressure seems to be healthy. Also, how important is it to reach my target heart rate before a workout? Thanks again.

[etaldred]

So you have never had your symptoms before? Does the pain begin very sharply at the base of your skull in between your ears, and then moves up to the top of your head. As the initial intensity of the pain subsides, does it turn into a dull aching?

If so, then you are experiencing 'exertional headaches'. I got my first one on Sept 30th, so I feel your pain indeed. First off, I would speak to your PCP so he/she can confirm your symptoms and then do a full blood test and then MRI/MRA to rule out (very small percentage, >2%) a pre-existing condition that is manifesting itself in the form of an exertion headache. This maybe overkill, but you don't want to be that small percentage.

They will tell you to take 1200mg of ibprofen 1 hour before you begin ANY will use a valsalva manuever (where you will hold your breath and exert force, such as a pushup; or in my case, a pullup). The reason that they will tell you to take ibprofen is because they believe (there is no conlusive treatment, trust me) that certain blood vessels in your neck expanded past their limits. As a defense mechanism your body told them to constrict back to resting diameters (think golf ball through a garden hose). Pressure from the bloodflow that is being pushed at a higher velocity through a smaller pathway causes that intense pressure. Once it happens for the first time, it will continue to happen after the first valsalva manuever is performed (notice how after the initial intensity subsides, it doesnt come back like it did?). There are ways that I have found to control the occurances and the intensity when they occur.

- Ibprofen as stated above 1 hour prior seems to help
- Staying very hydrated will minimalize the inetnsity if one does strike
- 20-30 minutes of cardio before any intensity training seems to have done the trick for me. I show up to crossfit 40 minutes early and then: stretch, jog 400m, sprint 100m, jog 400m, stretch and then try to induce one the headaches by doing a set of 20 pushups. If I feel the symptoms start to come, I immediately stop, and go jog another 400m. DO NOT WORK THROUGH IT! stop.
- My crossfit trainer told me that I need to start getting massages at least once a week from someone who has experience treating individuals with our symptoms. I have read about a number of cases where this can virtually eliminate the headaches (massage will help a great deal with the tension and imflammation).
- Take 2 weeks off of exertional workouts and just focus on your cardio. I have heard that the headaches can just completely disappear. I dont have the time to do this, but maybe you do.

Hope this helps you.

[blindside622]

Thankyou again Rangers and Etaldred. The past month has been the very first time i have gotten headaches like this. My symptoms sound exactly like what you have described. I have noticed that and warm up in the beggining (usually a 2 mile run on an elyptical) has greatly reduced the severity and length of the headache. I actually went to a doctor and he told me It was mainly stress and tension due to my getting ready to make the biggest change i will ever make in my life. I explained that they get worse when I exert myself to my near max. He perscribed me some meds specific for these headaches and it seems to be working. Ive also been drinking alot more water on days before workouts. When you say get a massage, you mean at a spa or someone that is specialized in head massages? And no i dont really have time to take off because I leave for OSUT in 29 days. Thanks again everyone.

[fritzscorner]

I do not recommend taking 1200mg of ibuprofen hour before work out... No one should take that much in one dose on a daily basis over a prolonged period of time. It can cause bleeding of your GI amongst other things. There are other NSAID's that are better to take. I suggest you seek advise from a doctor before taking ibuprofen like that. If you do take any ibuprofen make sure you take it with food.