Tension headache from... cycling?
 

Not one prone to migraines I got what info off the web says is, a tension headache (TTH) from working out. Although some doctors don't think the term is that useful (just a headache but not as strong as migraines can be), the cause clearly is:

Cycling (to intense, not enough warm-up, need to slow-down)?
Tensed shoulders, neck...
Riding in the heat (it was >80 yesterday)
Needed more hydration
Ran out of electrolytes (only drank water)
Fasted riding (piece of cheese and cup of black coffee)
Ate some kipper snacks afterwards
Drank beer afterwards
Didn't take NSAIDs
No cool down...

It apparently is the most common headache type in the world so of course if this happens, you should immediately consult a doctor.

...and, forgot to mention-- 2nd time I ever wore a skullcap the first being a few days earlier... Hmmmmm.

To paraphrase Freud, sometimes a headache is just a headache.

Hypertension?

Helmet is too tight?

Light sensitivity?

Environmental stressors? Like traffic noise, smog . . .?

I have to loosen my helmet when on sustained climbs due to the pulsing at the base of my skull. I get a mild headache if I don't.

I occasionally get headaches, but it is generally rare.

Consult a doctor if the headache is extremely severe, or doesn't go away with analgesics and rest.

Since going car free, cutting out coffee and caffeine, either I'm dying, or getting healthier with the pulse and BP dropping like a rock.

Anyway, take care of yourself, but I wouldn't get too wound up about things unless it becomes a regular occurrence, or becomes extreme.

From what you wrote there, getting dehydrated alone will usually cause headaches and then drinking alcohol can and usually will make it worse. Cycling normally "cures" whatever is ailing me but I have gotten occasional headaches when I don't drink enough.

...coughing too hard
nasal congestion
not enough sleep
being too tired
certain foods
too cold? Nope-- definitely not too cold
anxiety
gritting teeth watching 2018 TdF riders going down hard...

Very loosely paraphrased I think but... it's something Freud should have said and for that, you win a cigar! Cheers!

Drop your shoulders when you ride ... and look around at the scenery now and then.
Also be sure to drink one 750 ml bottles of water every 1-1.5 hours ... approx. give or take. And a big glass of water after the ride too.

I had headache problems that went away when I got a helmet with better ventilation.

I'll get headaches after riding if I do not keep up with proper hydration...especially after a longer ride or if it's especially hot. I'm usually pretty good about it, but sometimes I'm lazy and its "not that far home" so I decide not to stop and fill up.

By the time a headache comes on, it's usually too late - so it's 2 ibuprofen and lots of water, though not over a liter an hour.

Very familiar. I'd say all of those contribute to headaches -- well, maybe not the kippers.

All my life I've been variously diagnosed with migraines, cluster headaches and, more recently, probably trigeminal neuralgia. I'm being re-examined this year to check the effects of an old C2 neck injury which may be contributing to headaches -- the C2 was broken in 2001 but finally healed, although it's abnormally large in diameter and sorta creaks and grinds when I turn my head. And my neck and shoulders are constantly tensed since then -- feels like barbed wire running from the right side of the neck down to the shoulder and scapula.

I've finished many long and or hot/hard rides with headaches. But it's been the same with any activities. I quit amateur boxing in the 1970s after winning my last bout yet having a horrific headache. Not worth the risk.

I'd add forgetting to take an antihistamine and Sudafed (generic pseudo-ephedrine) or generic ephedrine asthma/decongestant pill on allergy days, especially when the barometric pressure is changing. The substitute phenylephrine decongestant does nothing for me.

Much as I love beer I'll avoid hoppy beers (my sinuses swell from beers with high Mosaic hops content) and sometimes all alcohol on days when a pressure front is around -- I'll check the barometer. This is one of my most predictable headache factors. So I'll only drink beer after a ride if I'm not overheated and exhausted. I'll take coffee or tea instead -- anything with caffeine helps. And my favorite tap room for meeting friends after a ride carries non-alcoholic concoctions like kombucha now.

Taking a sudafed will often help. Some particularly severe headaches are associated with swelling of congested tissues and blood vessels pressing against nerves.

An ice cold gel pack over the face -- sinuses and eye area especially -- helps too. If it relieves the pain fairly quickly, within 15 minutes, it's probably one of those headaches provoked by allergies.

And I now use electrolytes in at least one bottle on every ride. Before and after too.

Despite the current conventional wisdom on prostaglandins and the effects of NSAIDs, I'm not at a fitness level where it matters. So I'll take ibuprofen before and after rides.

For the chronic neck and shoulder pain (worsened after I was hit by a car in May, breaking and dislocating my shoulder), I've been trying every topical analgesic I could find. Most of them don't work because they can't penetrate the skin -- any relief is from the massaging.

I homebrewed a topical analgesic using DMSO as a transdermal carrier and various other stuff -- salicylates, menthol. camphor, eucalyptus, and finally capsaicin. The latter -- DMSO with capsaicin -- produced an effect like a sunburn with blistering.

But this week I just received a bottle of Ted's Pain Cream, which promises to work the same way. It uses MSM rather than DMSO as the transdermal carrier, which lacks the garlicky odor of DMSO and should minimize the slight stinging sensation. And it uses methyl salicylate (wintergreen) and resveratrol as the primary analgesic. The feel of the cream is like any fine hand/body lotion, very pleasant. I've used it only two days and the maker -- a neuro=scientist Dr. Ted Price -- says it has a cumulative effect and may take 5-7 days to reach optimal effectiveness. Makes sense if the MSM carrier is less aggressive and less irritating than DMSO.

However I'm not expecting any miracles. Any topical analgesic is likely to offer some relief only to joints and connective tissues just under the skin. So I'm not expecting any relief from the deep muscle pain in my neck, shoulders, scapula and back. That's where many of my headaches originate. So I carry extra ibuprofen in my seat bag, and for absolute emergencies one or two prescription pain relievers and muscle relaxers. So far I haven't needed the stronger stuff during a ride -- usually I can hobble home and take them there without worrying about my balance and coordination being affected.

On the plus side, most of my exercising and bike rides seem to help relieve pain, rather than cause it. I just need to be careful to ride within my limits, not try to match someone else's pace in hot weather, and pay attention to my body.

To add to the discussion, I'll occiasionally get these - (with the caveat of course if symptoms are severe or persist consult a dr.)
Yes all of items in your list can aggravate/cause this type of headache.
When I get them, another cause can be what I call "computer neck" I'll run through these neck exercises, which help loosen things up and also relax you:
https://www.active.com/cycling/artic...n-from-cycling

Stretching and core work can help too. Check that Skull cap too! I've had similar happen from helmets, headbands and caps too tight.

On a related note I've been experimenting with topical CBD products too for various age related cricks and aches, including neck/shoulder tension - seems to help for minor sttuff, slowly becoming a believer. Whether it's placebo effect or real science I dunno but i'll take it.

:lol: - seriously :lol:

I get headaches from time to time, and when I was a freshman in college, they bothered be a lot. They can get pretty bad sometimes, but fortunately, they tend to be quite short-lived, so I almost never take anything for them. They go away before the analgesic would have a chance to kick in. Only had one migrane once, and it was the kind that didn't hurt at all. I was at work, when all of a sudden, for moments at a time, I couldn't see things when I looked directly at them. I thought I'd had a stroke or something. It was diagnosed as an "optical migrane."

I had high hopes :innocent: for CBD but have been disappointed.

A friend gave me some full plant extract in a topical balm ("Bud Rub") a month or so ago after my shoulder injury. It smells great. Can't tell that it does anything other than smell great. I haven't smoked since I was a teenager more than 40 years ago, but it has that same odor, which I find pleasant. And the mix of other topical ingredients means it's not suitable for ingestion so I don't really care whether it's technically legal in my state.

In that regard Bud Rub is no worse than any topical analgesic, and it contains most of the same stuff in addition to hemp: menthol, camphor, etc. But without a transdermal carrier like DMSO or MSM it can't penetrate the skin to do anything for joints and muscles. So I'm first applying some DMSO gel to the shoulder and neck, then the CBD balm.

But DMSO smells garlicky. MSM is a similar transdermal carrier but without the stink and without the annoying side effects -- DMSO can also cause stinging on the skin, and may even cause a rash and blisters when used on sensitive skin or mixed with certain topical analgesics. I got a fairly painful rash with blisters that resembled a bad sunburn when I combined DMSO and capsaicin. It cleared up in a couple of days, and topical lidocaine minimized the burning and itching on the skin surface.

Speaking of which, there's a fairly new topical balm, Ted's Pain Cream, that does contain MSM so it does have a transdermal carrier that should enhance getting the analgesics into joints and muscles immediately below the skin. I doubt it'll be useful for deep muscle pain. But it may be effective on places like shoulder joints, knees, wrists, etc. -- any part of the body that's bony and right under the skin without a dense muscle or fat layer. "Ted" is Dr. Ted Price of UT-Dallas, a neuro-scientist whose research indicates this balm should work on some types of chronic pain. I won't repeat it all here since there are links to the tech stuff on his website.

Still, folks kept raving about CBD so I've tried three different oral types, two from CV Sciences (+CBD Oil and dry capsules) and one from Green Mountain (oil filled capsules). +CBD had no effect on my chronic pain and occasional nausea (I also have a thyroid tumor and while the doctor last week danced around the "C" word he wants me to get another ultrasound and biopsy).

Of the three only Green Mountain seems to be somewhat effective and it's by far the best value on the current market, the highest potency and lowest cost. Green Mountain is a fairly new company in Vermont and trying to reduce costs even more. Most or all of their products use everything permitted by law (or, at least, ignored by states that don't agree with the FDA's current position), including hemp oil for the carrier rather than olive or coconut oil. Negligible THC, to comply with the best understanding of the regs.

The Green Mountains capsule oil has a distinctively hempy odor and flavor, which some folks may find unpleasant but I like it. I can't say whether it has any effect on pain and nausea. Unfortunately my condition varies tremendously from day to day and the symptoms are so erratic it's hard to say for certain whether a good day without nausea and relatively little pain means the CBD is working, or whether I'd have had a good day regardless. But it can't be any worse than the stuff the doctor prescribed for nausea -- ondansetron, which supposedly eases nausea (I can't tell that it works) but with headaches as a side effect, which I really don't need right now, so I've taken it only twice in a month when the nausea was really bad.

The main problem with CBD is the cost. It's way too expensive for something with so little clinical evidence of efficacy. Green Mountain is working toward lowering the cost, so I'll continue to try them. But it's hard to justify $30 per bottle or container of oil when there's no immediate, undeniable improvement. And my other medical bills are piling up so I have to give priority to the stuff that's officially prescribed.

Unfortunately it appears that for any hemp or cannabis product to be really effective it must be the full spectrum stuff, including THC. I'd rather have something with zero, or at least negligible, psychoactive effects for bike rides. I need unhindered visual acuity, balance, coordination and strength, otherwise I won't ride on the streets. I've mostly used the indoor trainer the past few weeks because I was also taking prescription pain meds and didn't want to risk being less than 100% outdoors.

In the past two weeks I've had two outdoor rides on days when I felt pretty good -- no headache, nausea, weakness or dizziness from the thyroid thing, and the shoulder had healed well enough to support me on the road bike. I've been hoping to find any non-prescription pain relief -- oral or topical -- that's both undeniably effective within an hour and doesn't hinder my balance, visual perception, etc. So far, no go.

So Friday and Saturday I've missed local bike events that I really wanted to attend, because the only things that would relieve the pain and nausea do cause some impairments to balance, etc.

When I quit smoking pot over 40 years ago I was fed up with stoners and the dumb 1970s lifestyle. It never occurred to me that I might ever reconsider. But if my thyroid tumor turns out to be the big C, I'm open to reconsidering if it will relieve some of the discomfort and nausea. Although I wouldn't smoke again. I won't even vape CBD, although it supposedly works better. I don't want to risk my lungs or aggravate an already irritated trachea.

That sounds like a classic migraine. Not all migraines are "headaches", which is why some doctors and migraine sufferers don't even use the term headache in reference to migraines.

A few years ago a reporter, Serene Branson, had a migraine on-air with aphasia symptoms. She suddenly began babbling incoherently. If I'm recalling correctly she later said had a headache earlier that day, and later suddenly had the migraine symptoms that produce a type of aphasia. She recovered quickly, no further problems.

Many of my migraines have had only visual disturbances, nausea, mild bouts of aphasia (more often affecting my ability to read and write, rather than speaking), but little or no pain. But I've had fewer of those episodes the past 10 years. Supposedly many folks, especially men, stop having migraines by their 40s or 50s.

But I still occasionally get severe headaches. A second neurologist later said my symptoms were more likely to be cluster headaches. A third doctor, most recently, said it may be trigeminal neuralgia. Who knows.

BTW, fans of the British show The Avengers may remember that John Steed occasionally suffered from "mee-grain" and took tiny pills -- probably an ergotamine derivative, which was the most common or only remedy up until the 1980s-'90s when doctors found that some patients responded to tricyclic anti-depressants, beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, valproic acid, bupropion.

Reportedly common OTC stuff like melatonin and valerian root can help with migraines. Some theory connected to the body's serotonin balance. Valerian root is somewhat chemically related to valproic acid (often labeled Divalproex, Depakote, Depakene, etc.), which may explain why it works for some folks.

Incidentally, regarding one treatment for migraine and certain other severe headaches -- beta blockers -- I had a headache with nausea for almost 24 hours straight between Friday and Saturday night. About a 7-8 level on the pain scale of 1-10. Nothing helped. I've had these many times before and usually just have to wait it out. Unfortunately it kept me from participating in group bike rides Saturday.

These types of headaches usually don't respond to opiates or muscle relaxers, so it's pointless to take more than one of each. Imitrex helped about 20 years ago but I couldn't afford the prescription without the insurance and low copay.

I finally took one metoprolol, from an old prescription I hadn't used in years. Within an hour the pain subsided to a level of 4-5 where I can function.

My BP wasn't particularly high -- 138/68. Any slight elevation can be attributed to the stress of being in pain, rather than a cause for the pain. And it's difficult to think straight with a severe headache so the beta blocker remedy didn't occur to me until Saturday afternoon or early evening. Even though I had that information filed away it's hard to access when the noggin is on fire.

I normally avoid metoprolol and related BP/HR meds because they're also associated with dementia in some patients. My mom took BP meds for many years and did develop dementia in her 70s, although it may have been unrelated. But I'd rather not take beta blockers daily if I can control my BP through diet and exercise.

Which brings up the most important point of all: what is causing the headache? A headache (even a tension headache) can be cause by so many things you could fill a database. For example, I can get a tension headache just by listening to someone's shrill voice.

Do you have a tall glass of water after your ride?

Well considering how hard it would be to drink too much water, I suggest you have another tall glass...on me.

I get them every time I do an extended effort. As soon as I finish my head is pounding and I lose focus (black shadow around everything for a few seconds). I think, for me at least, it's just over-exertion.

I'll second the folks who said electrolytes. I used to drink only plain water, but I eventually started getting tension headaches after rides. Then I started experimenting with Skratch and the headaches went away. Problem solved. It's not enough to hydrate, you have to make sure you get enough electrolytes.

A friend was getting bad headaches after riding, switched to different riding glasses and the problem went away. One more thing to try...