Horrible headaches after muscle cramp...

drivehard

drivehard

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On Friday I was doing some strong man training with a new found training partner. One of the events in an upcoming meet is the farmers deadlift for reps. I did a warm up set at around 380. Then I thought I would get a casual look at how many I could do at the competition weight (440) in a minute. I didn't push hard, or really go with any extreme intensity. I just started casually repping with the best form I could. About rep 12, something in my traps just knotted up tighter than steel. It ran up into my head and gave me an instant headache. I did two more reps figuring it would go away...it didn't...it almost made me pass out. I walked around and shook it off, and everything seemed to be ok. I went on and trained stones pretty well...almost got 300 (not bad for my first time).

Flash forward...since Sunday, I have had an INTENSE headache. It is from the muscles in the top of the back of my neck. If I'm not on 800mg of Ibu, I can't function...and its not getting any better. I can't run, I can't lift, I can't do anything if I'm not pounding the ibuprofin.

Is this just a pull in my upper neck I have to wait until it heals? Any advice?
 
elshano

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interesting, were you properly hydrated during your workout?
a magnesium deficiency can cause the cramping, and the headache could be a subsequent symptom of nerve tightness caused by the nasty cramp.

what do you reckon?
 
drivehard

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interesting, were you properly hydrated during your workout?
a magnesium deficiency can cause the cramping, and the headache could be a subsequent symptom of nerve tightness caused by the nasty cramp.

what do you reckon?
Yes, I drink about 2 gallons of water a day...and that day I had an extra 32 ounces over that.

I take a good multi, plus I take Essentials in the morning and just before I lift...not sure it was a magnesium deficiency. My diet is pretty spot-on and I get more green veggies than anybody I know. My girlfriend and I go through a head of broccoli, a head of cauliflour, a bag of carrots, and a bag of radishes overy other day. I also snack on almonds every day. Any carbs I eat are ONLY whole grain. These are all good sources of magnesium.

Pushing on the top of my neck where the muscle meets my skull amplifies my headache. Also aggrivated by bending over, or anything that increases blood pressure in my head.

I will say that it was the first time I have done dead-lifting with my palms facing in...usually I do double overhand on a BB. Although, I do shrugs with a palms in grib on a Hammer Strength machine, so my body has done that type of lifting before.

That morning I trained T-bar rows and squats...and a few other things, but that is all that should effect this muscle group. I was not tight, and was totally warm before I started. Just previous to training the deads that night I had trained overhead log lift...repping about 150lbs 10 to 14 times in four sets.

This really has me stumped. I have never had a cramp/whatever it was like this before.

I trained conventional dead-lift on Wednesday morning of this week (yesterday), and besides the headache from increased blood pressure in my head, I had no re-occurance of the pull/strain or even any tenderness of any sort...just a splitting headache.
 

youngandfree

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Do you have a chiro you see? The muscle cramp could have possibly squeezed the vertabrae in your neck and pinched a nerve. Maybe a simple chiro adjustment would help. Also, if your muscle cramped that much, it will probably be sore for a few days. Like if you roll over in bed and your calf locks up. Hurts like crazy then sore for a couple days. But since you say when you press on the muscle amplifies the headache makes me lean toward a pinched nerve. If you don't have a chiro, find a sports related chiro. If no chiro, I would see a doc if nothing else.
 

russy_russ

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interesting, were you properly hydrated during your workout?
a magnesium deficiency can cause the cramping, and the headache could be a subsequent symptom of nerve tightness caused by the nasty cramp.

what do you reckon?
Causes of muscular cramps are not currently know. There are many speculative theories as to why muscular cramps occur, but no definitive answer. A few off the top of my head are: fluid/electrolyte balance, dehydration, biomechanical inefficiency, one study with protein denaturation i believe, and abnormal neural control.
 
drivehard

drivehard

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Update...

Had sex last night...no headache until "the end"...than WOW, I about passed out. It was HORRIBLE!!!

Yeah, I have a friend who is a chiro...may hit him up.

Thanks for the advice.
 
time lord

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ouch man... i've had a similar experience although it was brought on by a different cause...

several years ago i landed really awkwardly during a martial arts match and tweaked the hell out of my neck, same spot. got serious pain and headache just as you describe... after a few days half my neck swelled up and i was forced to literally just hibernate for a almost a week...

finally i got my ass to the chiropractor where i got an hour long massage and electro stimulation, then got my neck aligned and HOLY ****! the second my neck was popped after it had been released due to all that massage i think i might have literally cum a little... i'm talking intense waves of full body tingles, tears of joy, and headache gone instantaneously. f$cking beautiful. go now go now go now!
 
Zero V

Zero V

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ouch man... i've had a similar experience although it was brought on by a different cause...

several years ago i landed really awkwardly during a martial arts match and tweaked the hell out of my neck, same spot. got serious pain and headache just as you describe... after a few days half my neck swelled up and i was forced to literally just hibernate for a almost a week...

finally i got my ass to the chiropractor where i got an hour long massage and electro stimulation, then got my neck aligned and HOLY ****! the second my neck was popped after it had been released due to all that massage i think i might have literally cum a little... i'm talking intense waves of full body tingles, tears of joy, and headache gone instantaneously. f$cking beautiful. go now go now go now!
Damn! You make a chiro sound amazing lol. I am about 22 years overdue for a tune up.
 

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