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Resistance training reduces pain indices and improves quality of life and body strength in women with migraine disorders

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Abstract

Purpose

The benefits of resistance training (RT) for migraineurs appears to be lacking although beneficial of aerobic training have been shown in previous studies. The aim of the current study, therefore, is to investigate the influence of RT on migraine headache indices, upper and lower-body strength, and quality of life (QOL) in women with migraine disorders.

Methods

Twenty female migraine patients who were referred by a neurologist were randomly assigned to two groups including RT group (n = 10) and control (CON) group (n = 10). The RT protocol consisted of 8 weeks, 3 sessions per week, 45–60 min per session. Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and pain diary were utilized to measure the subjects’ migraine indices including duration, pain severity, and frequency within 48 h pre- and post-training protocol. Patients in the Control group (CON) have been refrained from regular exercise during this study. The quality of life (QOL) and muscular strength were measured by the Headache Impact Tests (HIT) and one-repetition maximum (1RM) test, respectively, for 48 h pre- and post-training protocol.

Results

The RT resulted in a significant decrease in the migraine indices (headache intensity, frequency, and duration) (p = 0.02, p = 0.001, p = 0.04, respectivetly). Increased quality of life and chest and leg muscular strength significantly (p = 0.001 for all) were also showed after 8-week RT protocol. However, there were not any significant differences between groups considering, BMI and waist-hip ratio (WHR) after executing RT protocol (p > 0.05).

Conclusion

Based on the results of the current study that mainly had a positive trend, it could state that RT protocol with special consideration for migraine patients is probably an alternative therapy or augmentative complement to established interventions for migraine treatment.

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Availability of data and materials

All data are available and transparency.

Code availability

All data were analyzed using SPSS 22.0 statistical software and presented as means ± SD.

Abbreviations

1RM:

One-repetition maximum

BMI:

Body mass index

CGRP:

Calcitonin gene-related peptide

CSD:

Cortical spreading depression

DUR:

Duration

FRQ:

Frequency

HIT:

Headache impact tests

ICHD:

International classification of headache disorders

IHS:

International headache society

INT:

Intensity

QOL:

Quality of life

RT:

Resistance training

SED:

Sedentary

VAS:

Visual Analog Scale

WHR:

Waist to hip ratio

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Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank the subjects for their dedication and participation in this study. We also gratefully acknowledge the technical assistance of Ph.D. students to monitor in practical training, Mrs. Zahra Pairo, Ms. Afsaneh Astinchap, and Ms. Jaleh Amirian.

Funding

This work was supported by the Medical Sciences University, Kermanshah, Iran (No. 1394.15).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neurology Department, School of Medicine, Medical Sciences of Kermanshah University, Kermanshah, Iran

    Payam Sari Aslani

  2. Exercise Physiology Department, Sports Sciences Faculty, Razi University, PO BOX 6714414874, Kermanshah, Iran

    Maryam Hassanpour, Omid Razi & Abdolhossein Parnow

  3. Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Beat Knechtle

  4. Medbase St. Gallen Am Vadianplatz, St. Gallen, Switzerland

    Beat Knechtle

Authors
  1. Payam Sari Aslani
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  2. Maryam Hassanpour
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  3. Omid Razi
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  4. Beat Knechtle
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  5. Abdolhossein Parnow
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Contributions

AP contributed to designing research and final edition, MA contributed to the literature search, training the subjects, and data collection. OR contributed in preparing the manuscript, BK contributed in discussion preparation, and, PS contributed as supervisor and Neurologist to Migraine patients.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Abdolhossein Parnow.

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Conflict of interest

All authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

The Medical Ethics Committee formally approved this research, Medical Sciences University, Kermanshah, Iran (ethical code: IR.kums.rec.1394.15), and it was registered at the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT2015100910824N2).

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All patients were requested to fill out the consent form.

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Sari Aslani, P., Hassanpour, M., Razi, O. et al. Resistance training reduces pain indices and improves quality of life and body strength in women with migraine disorders. Sport Sci Health 18, 433–443 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-021-00822-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-021-00822-y

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