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Mark Foley, D.O.
Headaches / Migraine Blog

By Mark Foley, D.O., About.com Guide to Headaches / Migraine

Athletes with Migraines

Wednesday November 11, 2009

Migraine headaches strike all types of individuals in all types of professions. Shawn Nelson, rookie tight end for the National Football League's Buffalo Bills, has recently been dealing with a bout of migraine headaches but is finding a way to stay active with his team. Nelson injured his neck blocking in a game a few weeks ago and feels like this was the most recent trigger, but he has suffered from migraines for at least the last 10 years. His mother was also a migraine sufferer

Nelson spoke a little bit about what it feels like to have a migraine, and how athleticism and size are no guarantees for good health:

Some people get injuries and some people's bodies react in different ways. From the outside looking in some players' afflictions look really small. But you won't know unless you've had migraines yourself, especially the way I get them. They are unreal. I can't even move.
This just underscores the fact that migraines can strike anyone and can be debilitating no matter what that person's overall health may be like.

What other headache triggers are out there?

Many NFL players experience concussions, which can be a secondary cause for headaches.

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Comments
November 16, 2009 at 9:13 pm
(1) Reno Headache Relief says:

I am a Chiropractor in Reno, NV and I help people with headaches everyday. Most headaches (Migraines especially) will have a trigger so I advise my patients to keep a headache diary. When you have a headache write down what you ate and drank that day, how much sleep you had the previous night, how much stress you experienced that day, etc. If you can identify your triggers (which can be very different from person to person) you will be better equipped to deal with them and avoid them. I also recommend that people get evaluated by their chiropractor, because a lot of tension and migraine headaches can be caused by spinal misalignments, which a chiropractor is trained in treating.

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