Exercise plus relaxation may lessen migraine pain

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A combination of aerobic exercise and muscle relaxation may help ease migraine pain, a small study suggests.

Austrian researchers found that when 15 migraine sufferers added an exercise-and-relaxation routine to their usual care, the patients reported an improvement in migraine pain intensity over six weeks.

The findings, reported in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine, add to evidence that exercise may offer some relief from migraine pain. A recent research review, for instance, concluded that while it seems unlikely that exercise prevents migraine attacks, it may make them less intense when they do arise.