Can I exercise with migraines?
If you’re having a migraine attack, you probably want to lie in bed with the shades drawn. Getting in and out of bed during an attack can be so difficult, so painful and nauseating, that most sufferers simply don’t want to move. The idea of exercising at a time like this seems simply unthinkable!
While you may not be able to exercise during an acute migraine attack, exercising properly may help you to prevent future migraines.
So what kind of exercise should you do? Don’t worry, you don’t need to become a marathon runner to prevent your migraines! Instead, it’s important to focus on purposeful movement.
Purposeful movement is the basis for all exercise. Purposeful movement puts you in control, and in a disease in which we lose so much control, gaining back this little bit is an important step physically, mentally, and emotionally in our treatment and learning to live with migraine.
So then, how do we move when we suffer from migraine disease?
Start small. Start slow. Start tiny. Babies don't start by eating a whole pizza, they start with 2 or 3 bites of baby food.
Exercise for the purpose of moving and stretching. Do not exert yourself.
What can you move without causing pain? Move that. Move purposefully for a short period of time, building it up slowly over weeks or months until you are able to do more. No matter how small, the important thing is to begin. Somewhere. If you find yourself overwhelmed, don’t stop, just do what you can do now.
Whether it means moving your finger for a minute, or doing yoga for an hour, the most important thing is to find a starting point you can build from to help prevent your migraines.
See this link: You can do this!
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While you may not be able to exercise during an acute migraine attack, exercising properly may help you to prevent future migraines.
So what kind of exercise should you do? Don’t worry, you don’t need to become a marathon runner to prevent your migraines! Instead, it’s important to focus on purposeful movement.
Purposeful movement is the basis for all exercise. Purposeful movement puts you in control, and in a disease in which we lose so much control, gaining back this little bit is an important step physically, mentally, and emotionally in our treatment and learning to live with migraine.
So then, how do we move when we suffer from migraine disease?
Start small. Start slow. Start tiny. Babies don't start by eating a whole pizza, they start with 2 or 3 bites of baby food.
Exercise for the purpose of moving and stretching. Do not exert yourself.
What can you move without causing pain? Move that. Move purposefully for a short period of time, building it up slowly over weeks or months until you are able to do more. No matter how small, the important thing is to begin. Somewhere. If you find yourself overwhelmed, don’t stop, just do what you can do now.
Whether it means moving your finger for a minute, or doing yoga for an hour, the most important thing is to find a starting point you can build from to help prevent your migraines.
See this link: You can do this!
.
.
Tags: control, exercise, headache, migraine, move, preventative, preventive
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Nikki Albert on -
I think this is about all I would be able to do and a great idea. Full blown exersixing would be out of the question, might explode my head or give me a stroke!
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Permalink Reply by Ellen Schnakenberg on -
Hi Nikki!
Did you get a chance to check out the link on this page titled "So what kind of exercise should you do?" This takes you to a more instructional page that might be helpful to get you going. The bottom link takes you to information about the Blog Carnival on Exercise and Migraine, and other bloggers who have posted helpful information on the subject.
Good luck, and keep in touch on how you are doing...!
Ellen Schnakenberg
My WEGO Health Blog
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Permalink Reply by Nikki Albert on
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Thank you. As my preventative seems to be kicking in I am beginning to think of doing something, in order to get a routine going. The migraines have always made if difficult, but with FMS as well, well, it just makes the pain intense and lingering, so the need to start slow is necessary.
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Permalink Reply by Ellen Schnakenberg on
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Hi Nikki,
You're preventative is kicking in-- Yeah!! Congrats- I am so glad it's helping! Which one have they started you on?
It doesn't matter where you start, just so that you do, and that you find a place of consistency, no matter where that is. The time spent is much more important than almost anything else.
You really can do this!
Hang in there...
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