MedWire News: There is little evidence to suggest that regular exercise reduces the frequency and duration of migraine headaches, say German researchers.

"Exercise in migraine is recommended and even promoted in almost every reference textbook, patient guidebooks, or on migraine web pages," explain Dr Volker Busch, from the University for Regensburg, and Dr Charly Gaul, from the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg.

They add: "Most of these recommendations refer to some anecdotal reports or observational studies in literature stating that regular exercise can reduce the frequency and severity of migraine or even eliminate it completely."

To assess the published evidence for these recommendations, the team searched medical databases for all published studies relating to migraine and exercise. They also searched international textbooks in the field of headache and sports medicine.

In total, eight published studies and four case reports met the criteria for inclusion in the current review.

Analysis of the results from these studies revealed no significant evidence linking regular exercise to a reduced frequency or duration of migraine headaches.

However, the researchers found some evidence to suggest that regular exercise may help reduce the pain intensity of migraine headaches.

Drs Busch and Gaul conclude in the journal Headache: "The majority of the reviewed studies did not find a significant reduction of headache attacks or headache duration and only indicate a reduction of pain intensities in migraine patients due to regular exercise."

They add: "To further recommend exercise in migraine based on evidence-based medicine criteria, more studies are imperative."