Researchers from the La Salle Higher Center for University Studies and the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) (Spain) have carried out a systematic review with meta-analysis of all published articles on the effects of aerobic exercise on different variables related to migraine, such as quality of life, pain intensity, frequency and also duration of migraine episodes.
After systematically collecting bibliographic information and performing statistical aggregation through the meta-analysis study, the researchers found that aerobic exercise is able to decrease pain intensity during migraine episodes.
Furthermore, aerobic exercise was shown to have decreased the frequency and duration of the migraine episode as well. Finally, aerobic exercise also showed a higher quality of life in migraine patients.
“The reason that aerobic exercise presents these effects in migraine patients is due to the fact that aerobic exercise is capable of causing a series of physiological and psychological changes in the body, which affect this clinical entity and could explain these effects, although it still requires further research, “the researchers say.
“However,” they add, “it has been found that aerobic exercise can cause a release of β-endorphins, which are a type of endogenous opioid, that is, generated by the body itself, as well as the release of endocannabinoids.”
The generation of endogenous opioids and endocannabinoids is related to decreased pain, also called hypoalgesia. In addition, aerobic exercise has been shown to have an effect at the psychosocial level, improving mood, anxiety levels, stress levels, etc.
Different effects of aerobic exercise in patients with migraine. (Photo: UAM)
“Aerobic exercise has also been found to have effects on motivation. Therefore, due to the effects of aerobic exercise, as well as taking into account the low cost that this therapeutic exercise model requires in migraine patients, it should be strongly considered for the management of these patients ”, the authors assure.
Migraine is a recurrent and disabling neurological, inherited, multifactorial disorder that can be encompassed as a type of primary headache disorder. It is characterized by a pulsating headache that generally only affects one side recurrently, and is considered one of the most disabling pathologies, with an estimated worldwide prevalence of 11.6%.
Migraine is the leading cause of disability in people under the age of 50. Additionally, it may display a specific characteristic called aura. The aura may appear before or during the headache episode and is characterized by fully reversible focal neurologic symptoms.
Regarding the characterization of headache due to migraine, this is described by patients as pulsatile pain, and can sometimes be accompanied by nausea and / or vomiting, as well as photophobia and / or phonophobia, that is , intolerance to light and sound, for generating annoying sensations during the migraine episode.
Aerobic exercise, meanwhile, is any activity of moderate intensity, such as brisk walking, running, or continuous cycling. The intensity of the exercise must be estimated and / or calculated in order to maintain the said moderate intensity. The way to estimate it is through the rate of energy expenditure during exercise or by monitoring some parameters such as heart rate, among others.
Meta-analytic studies are carried out by manual extraction of all the numerical results of the articles reviewed, normalizing them one by one in order to be able to compare them.
Once the data by variable has been extracted, they are evaluated together using a series of parameters that offer a final result that indicates whether or not the intervention finally shows significant effects on the variables of interest, which in this case were pain intensity, frequency and duration of migraine and, finally, quality of life.
“This quantitative meta-analysis has allowed us to show a final result, integrating all the results of the included studies, which enables us to know the impact of aerobic exercise on migraine patients,” the authors conclude. (Source: UAM)
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