SPORT AND EXERCISE HEADACHE .1. PREVALENCE AMONG UNIVERSITY-STUDENTS

Sport- and exercise-related headaches have been recognized over the la st 20 years, but their prevalence is unknown. A nine-page questionnair e was used to study the prevalence of sports headaches among two contr asting populations of Otago University students: medical students (n = 178) and physical education students (n = 190). Both populations had a similar response rate of approximately 80%. It was found that 35% of respondents had experienced sport- and exercise-related headaches amo ng the two populations, with similar rates for men and women seen in b oth. Comparision of the two populations showed no significant differen ce in the rate of sports headache among women, whereas the men physica l education students has a significantly higher rate of sports headach e than the men medical students. A high frequency of trauma-related he adaches in contact sports accounted for this higher rate among the men physical education students. This study demonstrated that sport-and e xercise-related headaches are a common problem among university studen ts.