Do you suffer migraines? At least one doctor recommends a session on the turbo trainer

You’ve probably always looked upon the turbo trainer as a source of pain, but apparently it can also alleviate it. That’s the claim being made by a doctor in the US who is recommending indoor cycling as a means of treating migraines.

There is currently no cure for migraines, but Fox 21 reports how Dr Carolyn Bernstein believes that exercise can help alleviate the symptoms. “When we exercise, a lot of the time we feel better afterwards. We get all kinds of neurotransmitters going in our brain that can decrease pain levels,” she explains.

Bernstein is a migraine sufferer herself and favours indoor cycling as a form of exercise, partly because it is low impact. There is evidence to support her view as well. A 2008 study carried out at a headache clinic in Sweden put 26 migraine sufferers through a 12-week indoor cycling training regime and gauged the effectiveness.

The programme was to train three times a week with VO2 max, migraine status, side effects and quality of life all monitored throughout. As you might imagine, VO2 max improved over the course of the 12-week period – but so did quality of life.

At no point during the study period did migraine status worsen, while the last month of treatment saw a significant decrease in the number of migraine attacks, the number of days with migraine per month, headache intensity and the amount of headache medication used. There was one migraine attack which began shortly after the onset of training, but no other side effects were reported.

Dr Emma Varkey, co-author of the study, commented:

“While the optimal amount of exercise for patients with migraine remains unknown, our evaluated program can now be tested further and compared to pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments to see if exercise can prevent migraine.”

The study claimed that individuals who regularly suffer headaches and migraines are typically less physically active than those who don’t and may even consciously avoid exercise, citing it as a trigger. The effectiveness of indoor cycle training as a treatment may therefore hinge on the frequency, intensity and duration of sessions, so bear this in mind before sentencing yourself to a punishing new routine of hard intervals three times a week.