Migraine: Activities That Can Worsen Migraine Symptoms

Migraines are headaches that often affect one side of the head and can be extremely painful, throbbing, or pulsating. It frequently comes with high sensitivity to light and sound as well as nausea and vomiting. The pain from a migraine attack can be so intense that it interferes with your regular activities and can persist for hours or even days.

Various other factors besides these can also trigger migraines. Through correct preventive measures, medication, and lifestyle changes, you can lower your chances of getting migraines and also make them manageable. Read on to find out activities that can trigger migraines.

Alterable activities that can trigger migraines:

1. Exercising without a warm up and cool down

Preventing a migraine episode before it begins is the greatest form of treatment. You don't need to stop working out if it triggers your migraines. Exercise-induced migraines can be prevented or lessened with the use of warm-ups and cool-downs. Prior to engaging in hard exercise, spend 15 minutes warming up, and 5 minutes cooling down.

2. Strenuous exercise

Strenuous exercise can cause headaches, although this isn't always the case. Both long-term loads and tense muscles are major causes of tension headaches, and strenuous exercising has both of these. Your position tends to deteriorate if you don't work out correctly. After your workout, spend 5 minutes doing stretching exercises to help you recover. Stretching exercises are an excellent technique to support your body when riding.

3. Overusing medication

Medication Overuse Headache is a condition where you frequently get migraine headaches and take an acute treatment that your doctor has prescribed more than 10 days per month (MOH). In order to halt the cycle of pain if you have MOH, you must stop taking your medication and let it leave your body. You should consult your doctor to find out how to stop using particular medications.

4. Consuming alcohol

Among the most often mentioned migraine triggers is alcohol. Particularly among women, red wine seems to be slightly more likely than other types of alcohol to cause migraines. In the study, 19.5 percent of both men and women who consumed red wine experienced migraines. Just 10.5% of participants experienced migraines after drinking white wine.

5. Yoga that is unfit for you

Although some people have discovered that yoga can actually cause migraines, yoga is good for migraines. Ideal yoga should emphasise breathing and meditation. It is preferable for novices to enroll in a class with a teacher so that they may discuss their migraine history and receive appropriate advice. It's crucial to stay away from positions that put too much pressure or tension on your neck.

6. Having caffeinated drinks regularly

According to some experts, drinking too much coffee might cause migraines. It is advisable to keep an eye on your caffeine intake, which includes that from coffee, tea, soft drinks, and energy beverages. Caffeine levels in energy drinks can be shockingly high. According to some researchers, headaches can also be brought on by caffeine withdrawal. Some specialists advise against consuming too much caffeine. A lot of over-the-counter (OTC) headache remedies contain sizable levels of caffeine, so keep that in mind.

7. Eating migraine-triggering foods

There is a long list of foods that are known to cause migraine attacks, with histamine and MSG-containing foods, chocolate, cheese, and other dairy products, artificial sweeteners (including aspartame), caffeine, cured meats, and anything with a strong odour among the most frequent offenders. Identifying specific food triggers will help you avoid them as much as you can. Many people also follow a migraine diet that forgoes foods and substances that are known to cause migraines.

Keep these pointers in mind if you want to reduce your migraine triggers.

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.