•  
  •  
 

Abstract

It is estimated that 36 million individuals in the U.S. suffer from migraines. While pharmacological treatments are most often prescribed, adverse side effects cause nearly 70% to delay or avoid taking medication. Treatments such as exercise, that have fewer side effects than medications, are needed. While exercise is effective, not all migraineurs benefit (40% were classified as non-responders in one study), indicating certain aspects should be evaluated. The PURPOSE was to determine if exercise prescribed at a time-of-day in synchrony versus out of synchrony with circadian preference (chronotype) affected responder versus non-responder status when considering monthly migraine load. METHODS: Participants were 7 sedentary individuals who experienced migraines 8+ times per month (age = 34 ± 11 yrs, 167 ± 8 cm, 99 ± 26 kg). The Morningness/Eveningness Questionnaire was completed to determine chronotype. Participants completed one month of exercise (3 x week, 30-min, 60-70% estimated HRmax) in the morning (before 9:00am) or evening (after 7:00pm) in a randomized counterbalanced order, with a two-week washout period. ‘In Sync’ exercise was considered when a morning type exercised in the morning, and an evening type exercised in the evening. ‘Out of Sync’ exercise was considered when a morning type exercised in the evening, and an evening type exercised in the morning. migraine load was determined using the Headache Impact Test (HIT-6) and Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) at the beginning and end of each month. Responders were considered as any individual with 10% or greater improvement in scores. Chi squared (c2) analysis was performed and significance accepted at pRESULTS: On the HIT-6 evaluation, 43% of participants were considered ‘responders’ after completing in sync versus out of sync exercise (14% ‘responders’) (c2 = 1.4, p = 0.24). Similarly, on the MIDAS evaluation, 57% of participants were considered ‘responders’ after completing in sync exercise, while only 29% of participants completing out of sync exercise were classified as ‘responders’ (c2 = 1.16, p = 0.28). CONCLUSION: While no statistical differences were observed, exercise prescriptions that incorporate a participant’s circadian rhythm may be a promising option toward helping chronic migraine sufferers reduce the monthly migraine load.

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.