Table 1.
Studies Evaluating Exercise for Migraine Prevention
| Studies evaluating efficacy of exercise only for Migraine Prevention
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| Author (year) | Study Design | N (# con) | Sex | Mean Age (Range) | Mig Dx | Intervention | Program Duration (Ex Freq) | Primary Findings | Other Findings of Note |
| Koseoglu65 (2003) | Non-R Non-Con, Clin trial |
40 (0) | 85% Women | 32 (19–42) | ICHD | Aerobic exercise consisted of 10 min warm up, 20 min treadmill exercise at 60% maximal heart rate, 10 min cool down | 6 weeks (3×/week) | The median number of headache days per month decreased from 2 (range: 1–3) HA/mo to 1 (0–3) HA/mo after 6 weeks, P < .0001 | Pain intensity (based on 4 point scale) decreased from 3 (2–4) to 2 (0–4) after 6 weeks of treatment, P < .0001 Beta endorphin levels increased from baseline (32.3 ± 11.94) in all patients after 6 weeks (84.61 ± 38.30); P < .0001 |
| Narin66 (2003) | R-Controlled Clin Trial | 40 (20) | 100% Women | 35.2 (20–50) | ICHD | Aerobic exercise consisted of 5 min warm-up, 10 min cycling, 10 min walking, 5 min stepper, 10 min upper extremities exercise, 10 reps neck and postural exercise, 10 reps rowing, 5 min cooling | 8 weeks (3×/week) | The mean number of headache days per month decreased from 7.4 ± 2.9 to 3.6 ± 1.6 HA/mo in the exercise group, compared to 8.9 ± 3.3 to 7.0 ± 2.4 HA/mo in the control group after 8 weeks, P < .05. | Pain intensity improved from 8.8 ± 1.7 to 4.0 ± 1.4 in the exercise group compared to 8.5 ± 0.8 to 7.0 ± 0.9 in the control group. (P < .05) |
| Dittrich67 (2008) | R-Controlled Clin trial | 30 (15) | 100% Women | NR | ICHD | Aerobic exercise consisted of 5 min warm up, 15–25 min aerobics, 10–20 min strength training, 5 min stretching | 6 weeks (2×/week) | No significant difference in change in migraine attack frequency after 6 weeks between exercise group and control group. | After 6 weeks, pain intensity improved in the exercise group as compared to control group (F = 5.722, P = .024) Specifically, participants reporting intense, very intense, and intolerable migraine decreased from 46.7% to 6.7% after 6 weeks of exercise, compared to 60% to 33.4% in control group. |
| Varkey68 (2009) | Non-R Non-Con, Clin trial |
20 (0) | 85% Women | 49 (36–63) | ICHD2 | Aerobic exercise consisted of 15 min warm-up, 20 min exercise, 5 min cool-down | 12 weeks (3×/week) | No significant change in migraine frequency pre (4.7 ± 2 HA/mo) and post (3.9 ± 1.6 HA/mo) exercise program. | Significant increase in quality of life s(based on MSQoL) after treatment (65 ± 25) compared with baseline (58 ± 37), P < .01. VO2max increased significantly as compared with baseline, 32.9 (10) mL/kg/minute vs 36.2 (8) mL/kg/ minute (P = .044) |
| Darabaneanu69 (2011) | R-Controlled Clin Trial | 16 (8) | 81.3% Women | (24–52) | ICHD | Aerobic exercise consisted of 10 minute warm-up, 30 min jogging within an aerobic heart rate range and a 10 minute cool-down phase | 10 weeks (3×/week) | The mean number of headache days per month decreased from 3.8 ± 1.3 HA/mo to 2.3 ± 1.7 HA/mo in the exercise group, compared to 3.3 ± 1.3 HA/mo to 3.6 ± 1.4 HA/mo in the control group, P = .048 | Significant decrease in intensity (P = .028) and duration (P = .020) of attacks compared to control |
| Studies evaluating efficacy of exercise ± diet, and other behavioral training for Migraine Prevention
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Author (year) | Study Design | N (# con) | Sex | Mean Age (Range) | Mig Dx | Intervention | Program Duration (Ex Freq) | Primary Findings | Other Findings of Note |
| Lemstra64 (2002) | R-Controlled Clin Trial | 80 (36) | 66.3% Women | 35.6 (18+) | ICHD | The behavioral intervention included group exercise sessions consisting of aerobic exercise, stretching, & light weight training, dietary, relaxation, & stress management lectures | 6 weeks (3×/week) | Pain frequency decreased in the intervention group by 33.64 ± 5.29 %, as compared to in the control group (−2.22 ± 2.22%) after 6 weeks, P = .000. | Pain intensity decreased in the intervention group by 19.55 ± 5.61% vs the control group −2.78 ± 1.98%; P = .001. Quality of life as measured by the self reported visual analogue scale improved in intervention group (by 35.34 ± 5.03% vs control group −1.94 ± 1.94%; P = .000 |
| Verrotti70 (2013) | Non-R Non-Con, Clin trial | 135 (0) | 58% Women | (14–18) | ICHD | The behavioral intervention included ≥60 min of moderate-intensity physical activity, dietary & behavioral training | 12 months (most days of the week) | Headache frequency decreased from 5.3 ± 2.1 HA/mo to 2.2 ± 0.9 HA/mo; P < .01 | Headache intensity (based on 10 point scale) decreased from 7.4 ± 1.7 to 3.9 ± 2.1, after 12 months, P < .01 BMI decreased from 32.9 ± 4.6 to 29.9 ± 6.0 after 12 months, P < .01 |
Clin = clinical; Dx = diagnosis; Ex Freq = exercise frequency; HA = headache; Mig = migraine; mo = month; Non-Con = non-controlled; NR = not reported; R = randomized; vs = versus.