UKC

Hello,

For the past year or so, I've been waking up with headaches the morning after I've been to the climbing wall. Does anyone have any clue as to their potential cause and to prevent them?

Originally I thought I was just getting dehydrated and having some sort of non-alcoholic hangover but I'm still getting them despite drinking a decent amount of water both while at the wall and after I get home. I've also tried eating salty foods when I get back home to replace any lost salt but perhaps this is too late. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Cheers

Duncan

In reply to icehockeyhair:

Could be all the noise, Hustle, and Airborne chalk at The wall. Or the light. Had your eyes tested recently?

In reply to icehockeyhair:

Stiff neck from belaying and tension.

In reply to Submit to Gravity: could be a mild hypertension headache? see gp for a MOT and have your BP checked. Its worth ruling out high blood pressure. Do you drink things like rebull when you train?

In reply to icehockeyhair:

+1 on the belaying neck position, try some belay glasses?

In reply to icehockeyhair:

Have a look at your muscle tension after a session.
The upper trapezius links your shoulder blade to the neck and could be a source of the problem.
In essence, the sustained period of altered posture and increased muscle tension can give rise to headaches. Do some effective stretches, not just wobbling your head about kind of stuff.
Or go and see a physio..

In reply to icehockeyhair:

How much do you fall off when Sport/Bouldering? You could be knocking your brain about if you fall awkwardly.

In reply to ow arm:
+1. Lead belaying particularly gives me headaches unless I use belay glasses. Top rope belaying not usually a problem since tend not to actively watch as much!
Also, relaxing the upper body muscles before bed helps lots if it's been an intensive session.

In reply to icehockeyhair:

+2 it's from your neck. Either belayers' neck or muscle tension in your neck/shoulders when you're pulling hard.

Do some pull-ups and see if the effort makes the back of your neck scrunch and your chin poke forward. If so, you need to practice your climbing movement so that your neck stays relaxed even on effort/stress.

Similarly when belaying make sure that you're not 'folding' your neck back on itself to look up, rather it should make a smooth curve.

In reply to icehockeyhair:

I used to get crazy bad headaches after bouldering. Started taking fluids more regularly during a session and that solved my problem instantly. Hope you get it sorted its really annoying!

In reply to icehockeyhair:

It's likely to be tightening in your neck and/or shoulders. Do a good, comprehensive stretching session after each time you shower/bath (your muscles will be warm) and incorporate a stretching routine into the end of your climbing session. If this doesn't help get a sports injury massage to re-set things, they should be able to give you good stretch advice too.

In reply to icehockeyhair:

I don't disagree about the cervical(neck) hypothesis,but I have a damaged neck w a plate across C6-C7,and get stiff and painful when I belay for a long time outdoors.Yet I do not get headaches overnight with it.
I would still drink plenty on getting home,forget about salt as there is loads in any commercial food that you eat,and take a pint of water to bed to drink in the night.I find the latter to be really useful(apart from sometimes drinking too much before going to bed and then more in the night,and wondering why I need to pee).

In reply to icehockeyhair:
Had this problem after bouldering almost every time I trained in the evenings. Started using a carb/protein recovery drink with electrolytes in it straight after evening sessions and not had a problem since. Usually eat a meal and drink lots of water when I get back in.

In reply to icehockeyhair:

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not sure belaying is the problem as I get them the morning after bouldering too. Will try working on the neck muscles and fluids theory. Keep you posted.

In reply to icehockeyhair:

It might be noise, too. I was alone at my usual climbing wall and the music was too energetic and loud to concentrate on reading (I did some rests between climbing and need to read few hundreds of pages very quickly...). Later on the bouldering area was filled in with more people, so it was even worse.

I prefer calm music (mostly classical), so maybe that's the problem with me.