Monday, May 28, 2012
Monday, December 14, 2009 bballmigraine asks

Q: Migraines from Basketball

I occasionally get migraines when playing basketball indoors. I've noticed that they usually occur when I have not adequately hydrated myself and when I've been playing for a while and exerted a lot of energy. I start losing vision in one of my eye's and after a couple of minutes everything becomes skewed and i have a couple of blind spots in both eyes. Then after about a half an hour, when the vision issues dissappear, I get a severe migraine headache. The aura usually begins while I'm still playing, but it has occured about 30 minutes after I've finished playing.

 

I have developed a fear of playing basketball (and any indoor sport, because of these migraines) any tips about how to prevent them or how to treat the visual disturbance part of them would be greatly appreciated. Is it possible that for some reason basketball is the only trigger and I won't get them doing any other activity? I've never had a migraine doing anything else, so I hope that this is the case. Thanks for your help.

 

-Drew

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Answers (3)
Megan Oltman, Health Guide
12/16/09 6:48pm

Hi Drew -

 

It's not uncommon for Migraines to be triggered by vigorous exercise. Dehydration is a common trigger, and many Migraine sufferers find that they need to find gentler, steadier forms of exercise. It may be that the energy levels used in basketball, your adrenaline levels, the bright lights in the gym, and dehydration are combining to trigger you. You might want to back off on basketball for a while or see if you can control any of those factors, to test what might be triggering you.

 

Good luck!

 

- Megan

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Nancy Harris Bonk, Health Guide
12/17/09 9:06am

Hi,

 

As Megan said it is very important to stay hydrated while exercising, and during the day for that matter.

 

In our Ask the Clinician section, this question may be helpful, Preventing exercise triggered Migraines?

 

I hope this helps,

Nancy

Reply
12/23/09 12:07pm

I have often found lighting in certain gyms (or even stores) cause migraines for me when I've attended my kid's indoor sports events.  Certain indoor lights have a slight, often inperceptible "flicker" to them and I know that flickering lights can cause my migraines as well as the coloring or intensity of the lighting.

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By bballmigraine— Last Modified: 12/27/10, First Published: 12/14/09