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pain in the head while swimming
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 2004-06-09 11:03 AM |
Expert  948    Mount Vernon, Iowa |  Subject: pain in the head while swimmingI'm trying to figure out what to do about a problem I've been having in swim workouts. The longer I swim, the more I get really intense pressure and then pain in my head. I feel it mostly across the front (frontal lobe area), but it feels kind of like a band around my head. My goggles are so loose they actually fell off while I was swimming yesterday, and my swimcap doesn't feel particularly tight. I'm swimming anywhere from 1000 to 3000m depending on the workout, and I can hold off the headache by changing to a different stroke, doing drills, etc. The problem is, the longer I swim freestyle, the worse it gets, and that's what I need to do for racing. I hesitate to do Olympic distance for fear of finding myself way out in the middle of a lake wanting to pass out or throw up because my head hurts so bad. So I know, the obvious answer is to see a doctor, and I think I will. But I wondered if anyone else has had a problem like this or could tell me anything. |
| 2004-06-09 11:50 AM in reply to: #30263 |
Member 60 Waverly, IA | Subject: RE: pain in the head while swimming yikes, that sounds like zero fun. couple questions, sorry if they are stupid do you have allergies? does it feel like sinus pressure? have you tried swimming without a cap? does the pain still come? do you do flip turns? does different strokes alliveate the pain or just delay it? when does the pain go away? done with swimming? take the cap off? do you wear earplugs? do you have difficultly adjusting the pressure on your ears? (airplanes, underwater, high altitudes)? is it always in a chlorine pool or does this happen in open water? does this pain come only from swimming or other exercise too? i swam for what seems like forever (but i'm sure there are many others with more experence than i). i've seen people alergic to chlorine but it mainly effects their breathing. i've also met people with equilibrium troubles that get motion sick if they swim. i've gone to practice with bad sinus infections and felt like my brain was trying to push it's way out of the front of my face.. bummer man, hope you feel better. doctors are good and smart people. they should be able to help you out. |
| 2004-06-09 12:35 PM in reply to: #30271 |
Expert 948 Mount Vernon, Iowa | Subject: RE: pain in the head while swimming do you have allergies? I've never had allergies, but it occurs to me that I might not know if I had some unusual one. does it feel like sinus pressure? No, it's worst up high on my forehead, not at all around my sinuses. have you tried swimming without a cap? I haven't tried swimming without a cap, just swimming with different caps. I'm experimenting. I'll try no cap. do you do flip turns? Sometimes. More often I just touch and turn around. does different strokes alliveate the pain or just delay it? Breaststroke and backstroke don't seem to bother me, but I don't do them nearly as far as freestyle. when does the pain go away? done with swimming? take the cap off? At times it's lasted until the next morning after an evening swim. Painkillers seem to have no effect. Last night I laid down on a deck chair for a while, sat and held my head for a while, and it was much better within maybe 5 minutes. Still, a bit of a headache most of the evening. do you wear earplugs? No. do you have difficultly adjusting the pressure on your ears? (airplanes, underwater, high altitudes)? I've never had trouble with that. I've done scuba training and was fine. is it always in a chlorine pool or does this happen in open water? Happens in open water too. That's why I'm a little worried about longer distance tris. does this pain come only from swimming or other exercise too? Only swimming. I've never had this happen in any other situation. It's comparable to the sort of really nasty brain freeze you get from eating something very cold on a hot day. Edited by CLLinIA 2004-06-09 12:36 PM |
| 2004-06-09 1:31 PM in reply to: #30263 |
Elite Veteran 970 Smyrna, Georgia | Subject: Go to a doctor! Here's some information from web md: Headaches in general: http://my.webmd.com/hw/migraines/hw93918.asp Headaches caused by exercise: http://my.webmd.com/hw/health_guide_atoz/tv6788.asp?navbar=hw93918 It sounds like you're getting tension headaches. Based on the info from webmd, your headaches may be caused by muscle strain, dehydration, overexertion or otherwise. I'd try a sports doctor first, since they're more familiar with what you're doing. I hope you feel better. |
| 2004-06-09 1:45 PM in reply to: #30263 |
Member 60 Waverly, IA | Subject: RE: pain in the head while swimming i agree with whit. the sport docs would be more familiar with this kind of stuff. it's weird that the headaches only come from crawl stroke and not other strokes or other exercise. you'd think if the cap was the cause that ALL swimming would cause you headaches. the fact that it's causing you to stop and get out and even lasting into the night seems like a pro should be consulted. nothing wrong with developing those other strokes though, you could become a good im-er  hope everything turns out okay. |
| 2004-06-09 2:21 PM in reply to: #30306 |
Expert 948 Mount Vernon, Iowa | Subject: RE: Go to a doctor! Thanks Whit for the links. I called the doctor and they're going to have the triage nurse call and figure out who I need to see. I'm especially concerned because there's a history in my family of things like stroke and brain hemorrhage. If there's something going wrong with my head I need to know! It seems weird that a tension headache would happen so reliably, and only with doing freestyle for long periods, unless I'm clenching up somehow. I mean, wouldn't it happen doing other things? Or if it's dehydration or overexertion, wouldn't it vary more? This is just what your mother always warned you about: people trying to self-diagnose over the internet. :-O |
| 2004-06-09 2:23 PM in reply to: #30263 |
Got Wahoo? 5423 San Antonio | Subject: RE: pain in the head while swimming Carrie, have you ever had neck problems? The difference between the strokes is the rotation of your neck when breathing. Just a shot in the dark. I have a herniated disk in my neck that can effect me in some wierd ways. I get headaches when swimming over 2000 yards about half the time and the kind and location seems pretty random. Bi-lateral breathing helps me a lot and I almost never get them when I'm alternating sides every third stroke.... Sometimes it's at the base of my head/neck, others behind my eyes and sometimes it seems to be right in the center of my head. I spoke with a nurosurgon and he said that the headaches are a pretty common diagnosis, especially when the neck is stressed. Edited by tmwelshy 2004-06-09 2:23 PM |
| 2004-06-09 2:41 PM in reply to: #30318 |
Expert 948 Mount Vernon, Iowa | Subject: RE: pain in the head while swimming No neck problems that I know of. I've never been in a serious accident, never even broken a bone - a pretty healthy specimen altogether, which is why this is worrying. The only real indicators I can think of are the incidents in my family history. My grandma had a stroke in her 40s that left her half paralyzed. I'd seriously like to avoid that. |
| 2004-06-09 2:46 PM in reply to: #30325 |
Got Wahoo? 5423 San Antonio | Subject: RE: pain in the head while swimming Stroke = Bad. |
| 2004-06-09 2:58 PM in reply to: #30316 |
Elite Veteran 970 Smyrna, Georgia | Subject: RE: Go to a doctor! The one thought I had was that something about the position you hold when doing the freestyle could be causing the tension headache, especially since it seems related to distance as well. Personally, I get idiopathic stabbing headaches. It sounds fancy but idiopathic means that there's no identifiable cause. Anyway, it feels like someone stabs an icepick into my head every few seconds and the sessions typically arc and fade over three days. One time it was really bad and I called the doctor for some of the only medicine shown to help this kind of headache, indomethacin, which is like ibuprofen. The doctor poo-pooed my idea and prescribed a very impairing pain killer instead. Great. The pain killer doesn't get rid of my headache but it makes me not care so much. Why didn't he just give me the recommended, less-impairing medicine? That's the last time I call that doctor. The moral of the story -- doctors don't know everything, especially ones who don't listen to you. If your doctor doesn't listen to you or the advice runs contrary to your gut feelings, go see another doctor. Let us know what you find out. As I was working out just a few minutes ago, my head started hurting, too! Talk about sympathy pains! |
| 2004-06-09 3:53 PM in reply to: #30334 |
Expert 948 Mount Vernon, Iowa | Subject: RE: Go to a doctor! Okay, I have a doctor's appt for next week. They won't let me go straight to a sports doctor, have to see the GP first, yada yada yada. No wonder I haven't been to the doctor in years! |
| 2008-04-03 4:04 AM in reply to: #30263 |
New user 1 | Subject: RE: pain in the head while swimming Dear CLLinIa, I hope you are fine. I am experiencing the same sort of headache that you reported to feel in your post dated 2004-06-09. You mentioned you were going to the doctors, may I ask you what he/she said,please? Best wishes, Javier |
| 2008-04-03 8:32 AM in reply to: #30263 |
Veteran 133 Houston, TX | Subject: RE: pain in the head while swimming I used to have swim headaches also, and I think I attributed it to not being well enough hydrated and not having a little snack before workouts. If I have something equivalent to a GU, or a little cup of juice/gatorade, it doesn't happen anymore. Since I get nauseated if I eat too close to my workout, I had been working out 2-3 hours after a meal. I think my blood sugar was dropping too low. Some liquid calories helped me without making me sick. Keep us updated on your condition! |
| 2008-04-03 9:49 AM in reply to: #1312758 |
Sensei Sin City | Subject: RE: pain in the head while swimming Just my first initial take (from someone who has a headache problem for just about all my life). If I get a headache, I look at three different things. Am I dehydrated? Sometimes it's hard to get in water during a swim (I forget). Dehydration causes mine sometimes. Do I have neck stress? Tension in my neck, whether it be from working out, or sleeping on my neck wrong, give me bad ones. Hats/Swim caps. I start to get a headach when I wear a swimcap (so I don't) and if my ball caps are even just a little too tight, starts to give me a headache. If I take it off, it goes away in about 10 to 15 mintutes. Headaches are no fun, so good luck getting it taken care of. |
| 2008-08-27 8:36 AM in reply to: #30263 |
| 1 | Subject: RE: pain in the head while swimming Today after my pool workout, I came directly home in attempt to find out what is causing my headaches during freestyle. I can change over to breast or back and it goes away within 25 meters. This has happened every time that I swim long distance freestyle. It gets to the point that when I finish a 20 min session, I have a huge headache mainly in my frontal lobe. I'm wondering if it is a tension headache since I don't have one in any other position. I know I am not dehydrated and I know that I am eating healthy. CLLinIA, what were your results at the doctors? |
| 2010-02-04 11:09 AM in reply to: #30263 |
New user 1 | Subject: RE: pain in the head while swimming I just started having the same problem. (i.e. headache while freestyling). Mine has been accompanied with light-headed-ness and some nausea. But, it doesn't happen all the time. What I found is that I was breathing to much. (oxygen overdose I guess? ). I slowed down my breathing (reduced size of breath) and felt a quite noticeable difference. BTW I agree with the other posts that mention proper hydration (It is easy to forget to stop and take a drink when your floating in the stuff!), blood sugar; eating prior to swimming is never a good idea 2-3hours after eating is a good rule of. . . . um . . .its just a good rule (I don't care to perturb the female readers). Anyway, hope you find out whats causing your problem and I hope it is not too serious.. Regards, |
| 2010-02-04 11:17 AM in reply to: #30263 |
Master 2210 Columbus, OhioCoaching member | Subject: RE: pain in the head while swimming The breathing post above mine sounds promising. Another idea I had was, where are your eyes looking? One difference between strokes is where your eyes are looking. And you can practice at your computer - if you drop your head and try looking up with your eyes as high as you can, it gives you a headache. If you aren't already, trying looking down at the black line instead of in front of you and see if that helps. |
| 2010-02-04 11:27 AM in reply to: #2654788 |
Expert 1618 Temple, TX | Subject: RE: pain in the head while swimming ahohl - 2010-02-04 11:17 AM The breathing post above mine sounds promising. Another idea I had was, where are your eyes looking? One difference between strokes is where your eyes are looking. And you can practice at your computer - if you drop your head and try looking up with your eyes as high as you can, it gives you a headache. If you aren't already, trying looking down at the black line instead of in front of you and see if that helps. This is exactly what I was thinking.... if you are looking towards the end of the pool rather than at the bottom (or the black line), that could be putting a lot of stress on your neck, and could cause the headaches. I had something similar when swimming backstroke and I changed where I was looking and it fixed it. Your body is in quite a different position when swimming breast stroke which may be why it's not happening except with freestyle. Worth a try! |
| 2010-02-04 3:53 PM in reply to: #30263 |
Buttercup 14334 | Subject: RE: pain in the head while swimming I miss Carrie. Smart and funny. |
| 2010-02-05 1:17 PM in reply to: #30263 |
Master 1325 Lake Oswego, OR | Subject: RE: pain in the head while swimming How did the no cap work out for you? |
| 2010-02-05 3:39 PM in reply to: #2657346 |
Master 2372 | Subject: RE: pain in the head while swimming E=H2O - 2010-02-05 1:17 PM How did the no cap work out for you? I think you're gonna be waiting a while for this answer - she last logged in three years ago...  |
| 2010-02-05 4:15 PM in reply to: #2657681 |
Master 1325 Lake Oswego, OR | Subject: RE: pain in the head while swimming sand101 - 2010-02-05 1:39 PM E=H2O - 2010-02-05 1:17 PM How did the no cap work out for you? I think you're gonna be waiting a while for this answer - she last logged in three years ago...
LOL. Would you believe me if I told you I was just trying to run up my number of posts? . . . . (I got 2 out of this one) |
| 2010-02-05 4:21 PM in reply to: #30263 |
| Veteran 142 | Subject: RE: pain in the head while swimming I am no Doc, but the breathing and head position would be my guess, Where is the water line in relation to your hair line when swimming?? |
| 2010-02-07 7:50 AM in reply to: #30263 |
| 6 | Subject: RE: pain in the head while swimming I'm no doc, but these are classic symptoms of Hypercapnia. The reason your feeling this is based on your style of breathing (hypoventilation) while using the freestyle stroke. |
| 2010-02-07 10:20 AM in reply to: #30263 |
Elite 3770 | Subject: RE: pain in the head while swimming Keep us posted! For what its worth, if I already have a headache, swimming intensifies it. I think its the fact that even though I breathe both sides and regularly, you end up holding your breath mor than you would running or biking, so that intensifies the pain. |
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