After working out today I had a light headache. The medical term is called an exertion headache. It wasn’t bad. I would classify it as a light headache.
Exertion Headache Log
The workout was a modified EMOM. Every three minutes we did a round of:
- 20 Calories on Assault Bike
- 10 Bar Facing Burpees
- 5 Deadlifts @ 225 lbs.
We did five rounds starting a new round every third minute. The exertion headache started just after I finished with the last deadlift at 13:00 hours and the pain was most pronounced while stretching. Stretches that involved lowering my head to ground level were the most painful.
I was no longer experiencing the exertion headache at 12:00 hours. The duration was almost exactly one hour.
Exertion Headache Research
Here are good articles I found related to exertion headaches:
I texted a medical doctor friend of mine and he responded with the following:
“[exertion headaches are] …generally a benign thing but could hypothetically be indicative of something more serious.” – My Internal Medicine Friend
For now, I’m going to ignore this. I’ve just started working out again after taking more than a month off. I was not sedentary the whole time. I went on long hikes, skateboarded and did other things, but no heavy weightlifting.
If these exertion headaches become a recurring problem, I’ll look more deeply into it. For now, it appears to be nothing to worry about.
What do you think about exertion headaches?
Have you ever experienced this? How did you treat it?
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