Provocation of Migraine after Maximal Exercise: A Test-Retest Study

Abstract

Background: Exercise is often recommended in migraine treatment, but strenuous physical activity is also reported as a migraine trigger. The main aim of this study was to evaluate whether migraine can be triggered by a maximal exercise test, using a prospective test-retest method. A secondary aim was to compare the participants who responded to the maximal exercise test with a migraine attack with those who did not suffer a migraine attack after the test.

Methods: A total of 19 patients reporting exercise as a potential trigger for their migraines were included in the study. After a baseline period of 1 month with measurements of migraine frequency, a cycle ergometer test until exhaustion was used twice on each patient.

Results: A total of 14 patients were test-retested, and of these, 3 reported migraine following both tests, 5 after one of the tests, and 6 did not report migraine after either test. We observed a higher risk of migraine after 1 or 2 tests in patients with a higher baseline migraine frequency (p = 0.036).

Conclusion: In conclusion, the study showed that although maximal aerobic exercise can trigger migraine attacks, it does not always provoke an attack even in those who report exercise as a migraine trigger.

Keywords: Headache; Maximal oxygen uptake; Peak oxygen uptake; Physical activity; Triggering factor.