Exercise for someone who lived with migraine can be a double-edged sword. Research shows exercise can reduce the frequency and severity of attacks. But for many it can also bring a migraine on. Juggling the two is a common challenge and there is no straightforward answer.
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00:00Anna Orburn was your typical sporty 14-year-old when exercise suddenly started to bring on
00:08painful and consistent headaches.
00:10I was doing, yeah, rowing, swimming, netball, basketball, and yeah, I basically just had
00:17to say goodbye to all of that.
00:19After a series of tests, Anna was eventually diagnosed with a form of chronic migraine.
00:23As with many people who live with migraine, exercise can still bring on an attack for
00:28Anna some 15 years after she first experienced one.
00:32Exercising is really hard, especially when I was in my early 20s.
00:35I was having up to 25 attacks a month, and I was basically bed-bound.
00:40Exhale, contract.
00:41Inhale, relax.
00:43Despite limited research, studies show that exercise is commonly reported as a trigger.
00:49Migraine can be part of the complications in their life that make it hard for them to
00:54create a regular exercise routine.
00:56But on the other hand, studies also show that exercise can be beneficial for people
01:01who live with migraine.
01:02Accredited exercise physiologist Emily Cordes, who experiences exercise-induced migraine
01:08attacks, describes it as a complicated relationship.
01:11Long-term, exercise can help when you live with migraine because it can reduce not just
01:16the frequency of attacks, but the severity of those attacks as well.
01:20The way exercise affects people who live with migraine can vary drastically.
01:25If your pain's around that level 5 out of 10, you might want to try going for a walk
01:30and just experiment and see what that does for you.
01:33And take a breath in, and exhale to twist to the left.
01:38Anna recently started working with an exercise physiologist, and she's already noticing a
01:42difference.
01:43I'm feeling stronger already, so I'm quite hopeful for a year, two years time.
01:48Hopefully I don't get any migraine attacks.
01:51Small steps towards controlling a debilitating and complex condition.