Migraineurs with exercise-triggered attacks have a distinct migraine.

Background: Sport as a migraine trigger has been reported, but extensive information on these triggered attacks and the patients experiencing these attacks is lacking. Goal of this study was to investigate the lifetime prevalence of exercise triggered migraine attacks in migraine patients and if patients with exercise triggered attacks experience specific prodromal or ictal migraine symptoms.

Methods: 103 consecutive migraine patients seen during their first visit at a Dutch headache clinic were administered an interview during their first visit to the outpatient headache clinic in which they were asked about their normal life migraine characteristics and if exercise had ever triggered a migraine attack within 48 hours after stopping exercise. Those reporting exercise triggered migraine attacks, were asked if these migraine attacks were typical or atypical compared to their normal life attacks and which kind of exercise in particular could provoke migraine attacks.

Results: Among migraineurs lifetime prevalence of exercise-triggered migraine attacks was 38%, regardless of migraine type (with or without aura) or gender. Neck pain as the initial migraine symptom during normal life migraine attacks, was more frequent in those experiencing exercise-triggered migraine attacks. More than half of the patients reporting exercise-triggered migraine attacks abandoned the offending sport due to migraine. As our study population was drawn from a headache clinic, result can not be generalized to the general population.

Conclusions: Life time prevalence of exercise-triggered migraine attacks was high. Those experiencing exercise-triggered migraine attacks, more frequently had neck pain as initial migraine symptom during normal life attacks.