Throbbing head! - Health + Injury

jo Lyness

14/11/2002 at 21:05

after I have done a long or particularly strenuos run, I have a throbbing headache that's really hard to shift. The next day I often have a very stiff and sore neck and shoulders. I always rehydrate well, so what's happening?I have been running for nearly a year and do about 15 miles a week.

Buney

14/11/2002 at 21:13

are you holding your shoudlers and neck stiffly - tension will cause headaches - try and do some shrugs and rotations as you run and shake out the tension a bit

Fell Running

15/11/2002 at 08:22

Jo

Agree with Bune

Try doing some neck and shoulder stretches before you go out. Take a short break halfway through a long run to relax your upper body, stretch and shake. repeat at the end of your run.

Also don't collapse in a chair after a run - try to maintain a good sitting posture - ie: don't slouch.

Hilly

15/11/2002 at 13:11

It sounds as if you are running very tense. This happens without realising it when the body starts to get tired from distance or speed. Try to think relax and check often in your run that your shoulders are not 'up around your neck'. They should be low, not hunched.

Test

15/11/2002 at 13:26

I think I agree with the tension diagnosis. But to add my uneducated twopence-worth, how well hydrated are you _before_ running? Obviously not a good idea to gulp down bucketloads immediately before going out, but do you drink sufficiently on a day to day basis?

I speak not as an expert but as a reformed drunkard - once a dehydration (hangover) headache's set in it's very hard to shift, irrespective of fluid intake thereafter.

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