Sport and exercise headache: Part 2. Diagnosis and classification

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Sports Medicine
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Sports headache is a common condition affecting athletes.
• Understanding the different types and triggers of sports headaches is crucial for effective management.
• Previous classifications have not fully captured the spectrum of sports-related headaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To classify and characterize different types of sports headaches.
• To determine the prevalence of various sports headache subtypes in a cohort of athletes.
• To investigate potential differences in headache types based on gender and sport type.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire was administered to 129 subjects (67 men, 62 women) experiencing sports headaches.
• Data collected included onset, duration, characteristics, and associated symptoms.
• Headaches were classified into effort migraine, trauma-triggered migraine, effort-exertion headache, and post-traumatic headache.

Main Results:

• Effort-exertion headache was the most prevalent type, accounting for 60% of cases.
• Post-traumatic headache represented 22% of cases, while effort migraine was 9% and trauma-triggered migraine was 6%.
• Men in contact sports predominantly experienced trauma-related headaches, whereas women engaged in running/jogging more often reported non-trauma headaches.

Conclusions:

• Effort-exertion headache is the most common form of sports headache.
• Trauma-related headaches are more common in male athletes involved in contact sports.
• Non-trauma-related headaches are more frequently observed in female athletes participating in running and jogging.