Severe Head pain upon bending down, jumping, running

[Anne1837]

Hi,

I have had appointments with excellent Drs over the past 8 years and my medical state has improved in every area except this head pain

I am very interested in knowing the cause of the severe head pain that I experience upon bending down, jumping, and running. This pain feels like pressure and tightness that is extreme enough to be severely painful. I had mild encephalitis in 2003 when I was 14 and subsequently developed narcolepsy, cataplexy,  autonomic dysfunction (fainting, wide swings in blood pressure, etc), and this severe head pain that I'm asking about. I add that I have raynaulds and erythromelalgia.  Neurologists I've seen attribute the head pain to autonomic dys-regulation and say they cannot give me more of an explanation than that or offer better treatment that what I currently take.

I do not experience any head pain while swimming. If I were to try to bend down, run, or jump, the pain would begin immediately. The pain stops soon after I stop the aggravating activity.

When I say that it is severely painful I do mean exactly that. I do not exaggerate. If I try to run the tightness/pressure is a 9 on a scale of  1-10. It is near the worst pain imaginable to me. Drs offer me painkillers but I do not want to mask the pain. I want someone to find the specific mechanism so that they can treat it. Before the infection and the head pressure that began at the same time, I was a serious athlete and I want to play again.
Sometimes, the (severe) tightness/pressure/pain extends to my neck.
My latest mri, mra, cat scan were unremarkable. My cervical spine mri displayed mild hypertrophy of the facet joints. It is possible this is a result of the contact sports I played as a kid.


Thank you very much for your help.

[livimaey]

Hi I'm 12 years old and I am expecting the same I can not tack medication fir some reason (don't what to say)please help PLEASE???!!!!

[Dr Santos]

Hi,
How are you? It is good that the imaging studies done were normal. Exertion headaches present with generalized head pain of short duration during or following physical exertion such as running, jumping, or sexual intercourse. And also in passive exertion such as sneezing, coughing, moving one's bowels, etc. Majority of these are related to migraine or cluster headaches. And 10% caused by organic diseases such as aneurysms, tumors, or blood vessel malformation. aside from avoiding the said activities, this can be treated with aspirin, indomethacin, or propranolol.  Extensive testing by your doctor is necessary to determine the headache cause. Take care and do keep us posted.

[missing_me]

Hi Anne:

I can definately relate to your wanting to find the souce of the pain rather than masking it with painkillers.

I am also athletic and between the MS itself and the MS related pain, well not the easiest thing to do, but then nothing with this disease is.  The athletics I find make all else much easier.

Among my pain, I also suffer from head related pain, but ironically athletics generally settle down most of my pain.  

I wish I had something to offer you other than my understanding of what you are trying to keep in your life.

I do heartfully understand and wish you the best in finding the answers you require to do so.