Pilates guide
No trial has tested Pilates for migraine or tension headaches, and in the one small trial in headaches that start in the neck, Pilates on its own helped least. What helps migraine is regular aerobic exercise and relaxation; what helps tension headaches is neck and shoulder strength and learning to relax. Pilates can carry the strength, posture and breathing parts, as long as you change the moves that strain your neck or set off a headache.
This guide covers how Pilates loads your head and neck, what the evidence shows for migraine, tension headaches and headaches from the neck, posture, breathing, which moves to change, what to do on a headache day, and our 20-minute head-supported class. If a headache came on suddenly and is extremely painful, or comes with weakness, confusion or problems seeing or speaking, call 999: the warning signs are below.
No randomised trial has tested Pilates for migraine or tension-type headache. The one Pilates headache trial was small, in headaches that start in the neck, and Pilates on its own helped least; a series of 9 students with tension-type headache had no comparison group. So Pilates is a good way to exercise with headaches, not a treatment for them.
Aerobic exercise cut about 0.6 migraine days a month across 6 studies, and 40 minutes of cycling 3 times a week did as well as a preventive medicine and daily relaxation in one trial. A 2023 guideline grades aerobic exercise and yoga above relaxation and strength training, and doesn't mention Pilates. The Migraine Trust counts Pilates as strengthening exercise that can help the neck pain that often comes with migraine.
A few minutes a day of band exercise cut how often office workers got headaches, and gentle deep neck training added to physiotherapy reduced tension-type headaches at 6 months. Relaxation and similar psychological treatments cut about 4.5 headache days a month. Stretching was linked with more headache days, not fewer. Pilates can carry the neck and shoulder-blade work.
People with chronic headaches tend to hold their head further forward, but those studies are snapshots and can't show cause. In the one Pilates headache trial, the Pilates group's head posture improved most while its headaches improved least.
Rest your head down in curls when your neck tires, leave out legs-overhead and rolling moves on a headache day, keep breathing through every effort, and skip hot rooms and very hard sessions. Straining with the breath held can set off a cough headache, and exercise headache is commonest in hot weather.
A sudden, extremely painful headache, or a headache with weakness, confusion, or problems seeing or speaking, needs 999. A headache brought on by exercise, coughing or straining needs an urgent GP appointment or NHS 111. The full list, in the words of our headache guides, is below.
Tension-type headache feels like pressing or tightness on both sides of the head; the NHS says "You should be able to continue doing daily activities without making the headache worse", and lists stress, sleep problems, caffeine and taking painkillers too often among the causes. Migraine is usually a throbbing headache that "can be worse when you move around", often with feeling sick and sensitivity to light and sound, and a stiff neck can come at the start of an attack.
A headache that starts in the neck (cervicogenic headache) is usually on one side and brought on by neck movement or holding one position. Our guides to tension headaches, exercise for migraine and cervicogenic headache cover each one in full.
The international headache classification describes a primary exercise headache as "Brought on by and occurring only during or after strenuous physical exercise". The first time it happens, a bleed on the brain, a torn artery and narrowed blood vessels have to be ruled out, and it "occurs particularly in hot weather or at high altitude". Cough headache comes on with short efforts of straining with the breath held, and has another cause in about 40% of cases. That is why the warning signs sit high on this page.
No study has measured neck load in Pilates moves; these are facts about the moves. Head-up curls hold the weight of your head: the chest lift, the hundred, the single-leg and double-leg stretch, the criss-cross and the scissors. Legs-overhead moves put weight towards your neck: the roll-over, jack knife, control balance, boomerang, and the high scissors and bicycle. Rolling like a ball, the open-leg rocker, the seal and the crab roll across the upper back, and several of these moves take your head below your heart.
Classical Pilates also sets a breath pattern, such as the hundred's 5 counts in and 5 out. Holding your breath while straining is what sets off cough headache, and very intense exercise, doing much more than usual, and not eating or drinking enough are migraine triggers the Migraine Trust names.
A 42-year-old woman felt a "pop" in her neck during a reformer move, then got a headache that eased when she lay flat. She had a spinal fluid leak with blood collected over the brain, and recovered with bed rest and caffeinated drinks. That is one case, so there is no way to say how often it happens; our Pilates for neck pain guide carries the same warning.
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In headaches from the neck (cervicogenic headache), 46 people were allocated to neck mobilisation by a physiotherapist, clinical Pilates, or both, 3 days a week for 6 weeks, and 37 were analysed. Pilates on its own helped least: headaches fell from about 11 to 8 a month with Pilates, against about 13 to 4 with mobilisation and 17 to 4 with both. Pain and painkiller use followed the same pattern. The groups that did Pilates improved their head and shoulder angles most.
A second paper reports two of the same three groups (25 people) with the same headache numbers: it is the same trial, not a second one. Its limits: one centre, groups that weren't alike at the start, patients and therapists who knew the treatment, no follow-up after treatment, and a registration posted after the trial had finished. Read it as one small trial in which Pilates alone did least for headaches.
Nine university students did four 30-minute clinical Pilates classes over 2 weeks, during exams, with no comparison group. The impact of their headaches on daily life improved in all 9, but pain intensity fell in only 2.
Source 3
We found no randomised trial of Pilates for migraine or tension-type headache, published or registered, in our searches of PubMed, Europe PMC and ClinicalTrials.gov in October 2026. That Pilates is untested here is clear; whether it helps is unknown.
Source 1
The 2023 exercise guideline for migraine doesn't mention Pilates. The Migraine Trust lists it among muscle-strengthening exercise ("This can include lifting weights, yoga and Pilates") and says these exercises "can be particularly helpful in reducing neck pain, which is often associated with migraine". It adds that a combination of aerobic and muscle-strengthening exercise "is likely to be best for most people".
There is no current Cochrane review of exercise for migraine or tension-type headache; the nearest is Cochrane's 2019 review of psychological therapies for migraine. So the exercise evidence on this page comes from individual trials, other reviews and one guideline.
For migraine, the NHS lists preventive medicines, acupuncture, and relaxation techniques and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) among ways to prevent attacks, and in the cycling trial exercise did as well as topiramate, a preventive medicine. For chronic tension-type headache, NICE recommends a course of up to 10 acupuncture sessions over 5 to 8 weeks and makes no exercise recommendation. A pharmacist or GP can talk through the medicines; Pilates sits beside them, not in their place.
Across 6 studies, aerobic exercise cut about 0.6 migraine days a month, on moderate-quality evidence. In the best-known trial, 91 adults did 40 minutes of indoor cycling 3 times a week (a 15-minute warm-up, 20 minutes at a harder effort and a 5-minute cool-down), a daily recorded relaxation programme, or took topiramate, for 3 months. Attacks fell by about 1 a month in each group, with no difference between them, and side effects came only with topiramate (in 33%). A 2022 review found aerobic exercise eased migraine pain by a moderate amount, on very low certainty evidence.
The guideline grades aerobic exercise and yoga B; relaxation (including diaphragmatic breathing), high-intensity intervals, resistance training and tai chi C; and gives a C grade against neck strength exercise as a migraine treatment. That grade against rests on one trial of 42 people, in which 8 weeks of neck strengthening did no better than a sham treatment.
A 2026 review of neck strengthening in migraine (12 studies, few of them trials) found less disability but no clear change in how often or how badly attacks came, on very low to low certainty evidence. Neck work can still help the neck pain that often comes with migraine, so keep it for that, not to prevent attacks.
Across 59 trials of treatments without medicines (10,020 people), exercise reduced migraine by a small to moderate amount, and the benefit levelled off at about 3 to 5 sessions a week of 30 to 40 minutes. The authors worked that figure out from MET-minutes, a measure of how much work the exercise is, and call the underlying evidence low quality; we read the abstract only. Treat it as a starting point, not a prescription.
Other reviews agree only loosely: combined aerobic and strength training ranked first in 27 trials (very low to low certainty), yoga and moderate or hard aerobic exercise beat medicines alone for frequency in 28 studies on "Very low-quality evidence", and a pooled analysis suggested "3 weekly 30-min sessions over 10-11 weeks", from before-and-after changes rather than comparisons with a control group.
Behavioural treatments (CBT, relaxation and mindfulness) "may reduce" migraine attacks, on low strength of evidence, and a Cochrane review of psychological therapies found no clear effect on how often attacks came (very low quality). In two breathing trials, alternate nostril breathing 3 times a day for 3 months cut attacks and disability but not severity (86 adults, who knew which group they were in), and daily guided breathing and relaxation for 12 weeks cut headache days in chronic migraine (7.1 fewer a month, against 4.6 fewer in the comparison group; 90 adults). A calm Pilates class with slow breathing is one way to practise.
Migraine pain "can be worse when you move around", and the Migraine Trust says strenuous exercise or just moving about makes many people feel worse during an attack, though some find gentle stretching helps them cope. There is very little evidence that exercise stops an attack, and even regular exercise is "unlikely to stop your migraine attacks altogether". If you feel an attack coming on in a class, stop.
Our editorial starting point: Pilates for strength and calm 2 or 3 times a week; aerobic exercise such as cycling or brisk walking on 3 other days, building towards the trial's 40 minutes; and slow breathing on most days. Build up gradually, eat 1 to 2 hours before and drink before, during and after, as the Migraine Trust advises. Keep a headache diary, as NICE suggests for at least 8 weeks, and judge it after about 3 months, the length of the trials.
In 198 office workers with neck and shoulder pain, 2 or 12 minutes a day of elastic band exercise, 5 days a week for 10 weeks, cut headache frequency by 43% and 56% (0.64 and 0.79 fewer headache days a week), without making the headaches milder. A 2022 review found strength training reduced tension-type headache pain by a moderate amount, on very low certainty evidence. But in 60 people with tension-type headache, 10 weeks of neck and shoulder band training did no better than posture and desk advice, and neither group improved by an amount that matters.
In 81 people, adding gentle craniocervical training (a small nod that works the deep muscles at the front of the neck) to physiotherapy reduced how often, how badly and how long tension-type headaches came, at 6 months. It is one trial, but it is the exercise the lying chin tuck teaches.
Source 9
In a network analysis of 12 trials (759 people), exercise against usual care didn't clearly reduce how often headaches came. Strength exercise was the part linked with fewer headache days, and stretching was linked with more, on very low certainty evidence. In chronic tension-type headache, neck and shoulder strength and relaxation reduced intensity and frequency across 9 trials. Keep long neck stretches for comfort, and spend the time on strength.
CBT, relaxation and similar treatments cut about 4.5 headache days a month (somewhere between 3.5 and 5.5; 5 studies, moderate quality). The NHS suggests "activities to help you relax like exercise, yoga and massage".
NICE recommends a course of up to 10 acupuncture sessions over 5 to 8 weeks for chronic tension-type headache, and makes no exercise recommendation for headache. A headache diary is how you and your GP can tell whether anything is working.
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Our editorial starting point: Pilates 2 or 3 times a week as the place for the lying chin tuck, band rows, the band lateral raise and Y-T-W raises; long passive stretches as comfort rather than treatment; and a relaxation practice on most days. Judge it with a headache diary.
In 200 people with cervicogenic headache, 6 weeks of low-load neck and shoulder-blade exercise, manipulation or both reduced how often and how badly headaches came, and the effect lasted to 12 months. A Cochrane review in 2015 rated the evidence for neck strengthening and endurance exercise moderate quality. A 2026 review of 29 trials rates it low certainty: exercise alone wasn't clearly better than usual care at 1 to 3 months, but was at 12 months (2 trials, 116 people).
In the Pilates trial, hands-on mobilisation by a physiotherapist helped most and Pilates alone least. So Pilates is a place to do the low-load neck work, not a substitute for physiotherapy. Our cervicogenic headache and Pilates for neck pain guides cover it in full.
Source 2
In 12 observational studies (1,083 people), people with chronic headache held their head further forward than people without headache, by a moderate amount. A 2025 review of 77 studies found migraine went with slightly more forward head posture (about 2.5 degrees) and weaker neck muscles, with very low certainty for every finding. These are snapshots: they can't show that posture causes headaches, and a review that proposes posture as a trigger says "Further research is needed". The NHS lists "bad posture" among common causes, so it may matter for some people.
In the Pilates headache trial, the Pilates group's head and shoulder angles improved most but its headaches improved least. In small trials in people without headaches, Pilates improved head posture angles (28 women who didn't exercise; 46 people with neck posture problems, with no difference in pain or disability). Do the posture work for strength and comfort, not as a headache cure.
Lateral breathing, "5 to 8 breaths at the start of every session"; slow-paced breathing on most days, "At least 5 minutes, done regularly as part of your daily routine"; breath reach, "5 breaths, exhale longer than inhale"; corpse pose to finish, "Lie still for at least 5 minutes, up to 10, usually at the end of a session" (the move page's dose for each). Corpse pose is a yoga pose used here as a rest: the guideline grades relaxation, not this pose.
For tension-type headache and headaches from the neck. Lying chin tuck, up to 10 holds of 10 seconds, once a day, very light effort; later, the chin tuck head lift, 3 to 5 holds of 5 seconds, building to 10 holds of 10 seconds, and neck holds, 3 to 5 holds of 5 to 10 seconds each way, light effort; band lateral raise, 2 minutes a day, 5 days a week, the office workers' trial dose (our tension headache guide, for each). Band row, "3 sets of 10 to 15, stopping 2 to 3 reps short of failure, with 60 to 90 seconds' rest" (the move page's dose). Y-T-W raises, 5 of each shape, forehead on a towel, and wall angels, 6 to 8 slow slides (our Pilates for neck pain class).
3D demoLying chin tuckBeginner · No equipment
3D demoChin tuck with head liftIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoIsometric neck holds (four-way)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoBand lateral raiseBeginner · A band
3D demoBand rowBeginner · A band + An anchor point
3D demoProne Y-T-W raisesBeginner · No equipment
3D demoWall angelBeginner · A wallKnee fold, "2 sets of 5 to 10 each side, every other day"; heel slide, "10 slow repetitions each side, once or twice a day"; the hundred with your head down, "50 beats to start, building to 100 (the classical count)"; the swan, small, forehead on a towel to start, "5 to 6 reps"; side kick, head resting on your lower arm or a cushion, "8 to 10 each side" (the move page's dose for each). Heel taps, 5 each side, and pelvic tilts into a bridge, 6 to 8 slow reps with your weight on your shoulder blades, not your neck (our Pilates for neck pain class).
3D demoKnee foldBeginner · No equipment
3D demoSupine heel slideBeginner · No equipment
3D demoDead bug heel tapsBeginner · No equipment
3D demoPelvic tilt into bridgeBeginner · No equipment
3D demoHundred (Pilates)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoSwan (Pilates swan dive)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoSide kick (Pilates side kick series)Beginner · No equipmentThe open book, with a cushion under your head, "8 to 10 slow openings each side, pausing 2 seconds at the end (our editorial starting point)"; thoracic rotation, "6 rotations per side, moving with the breath"; cat-cow, "8 waves, slower than feels natural"; neck circles, "3 slow circles each way, once or twice a day (our editorial starting point)", using separate nods, tilts and turns instead with a sore neck (the move page's dose for each).
Migraine's best-supported exercise. For migraine, build towards 40 minutes of cycling 3 times a week, as in the cycling trial (a 15-minute warm-up, 20 minutes at a harder effort, a 5-minute cool-down). For tension-type headache, our tension headache guide gives cycling, built to 20 to 30 minutes 3 times a week, and walking, 20 to 30 minutes most days.
Most of these are the moves' own cautions, word for word; the rest are our suggestions.
The hundred: "Rest your head on the mat if your neck aches." The chest lift: "Rest your head between reps if your neck aches." The single-leg, double-leg and single straight-leg stretch: "If your neck tires, rest the head down." The criss-cross: "Rest your head between sets if your neck aches." Do them with your head down, or swap in the heel taps.
The roll-over: "Do not do it with a neck problem: a Pilates teacher advises against putting weight over the neck with a cervical spine condition." The jack knife and boomerang: "Avoid it with neck or spine injuries". Control balance: "It may not suit a shoulder or neck injury." The high scissors and high bicycle: "Avoid it with a neck problem, osteoporosis, pregnancy, or wrist and elbow pain." Our suggestion: leave all of these out on headache days and with any headache that comes on with straining or exercise, and build back slowly.
Rolling like a ball: "Skip it with a neck problem or a sore tailbone, and never roll on a hard floor." The open-leg rocker and the seal: skip them "with a neck problem, a sore tailbone or osteoporosis". The crab: "Avoid it with neck or spine injuries". The neck pull: "Never pull on your head." Our suggestion: leave the rolling moves out during a run of headaches.
Our suggestion: keep breathing through every effort, including planks and the teaser, because straining with the breath held is what sets off cough headache. Skip hot Pilates and classes much harder or longer than you're used to: exercise headache is commonest in hot weather, and very intense exercise or doing much more than usual can trigger migraine. Eat 1 to 2 hours before, and drink before, during and after.
Fine for comfort, but in tension-type headache trials stretching was linked with more headache days, not fewer (very low certainty). Spend most of the time on strength.
Source 11
Our suggestion: keep the headrest up for lying work, use springs you can move without straining or holding your breath, and leave the jumpboard and any legs-overhead moves for headache-free weeks. No study has looked at the reformer and headaches.
Our editorial starting point, from the NHS's migraine and tension headache pages, the Migraine Trust's exercise advice and the international classification's exercise and cough headache entries. No trial has tested exercise on a headache day.
See the movement on the 3D figure: Lateral breathing (Pilates breathing)
Our 20-minute head-supported Pilates for neck pain class comes first, 2 or 3 times a week: it keeps your head supported, trains the deep neck muscles and shoulder blades, and leaves out head-up curls, rolling and legs-overhead moves. Add the breathing session on most days, the cycling workout on 3 other days for migraine, and the neck and shoulder strength routine for tension-type headache.
A 20-minute Pilates class for neck pain: head-supported core work, upper-back and shoulder-blade strength, gentle neck movement and slow breathing.
20 minBeginner15 movesA wallA 6-minute breathing routine: slow breathing, crocodile breathing, alternate nostril breathing, box breathing and 4-7-8 breathing.
6 minBeginner5 movesNo equipmentThe cycling session from a migraine trial: 15 minutes of gently building warm-up, 20 minutes at a fairly hard effort and 5 minutes easy, 3 times a week.
45 minBeginner4 movesCardio machine, A wallDeep neck holds and shoulder-blade strength in under 20 minutes: one of the best-supported kinds of exercise for a stiff, sore neck.
18 minBeginner11 movesA band, An anchor pointA calm 20-minute practice for between headaches: slow breathing, gentle neck and shoulder movement, a few easy poses and a long rest, with no heat and no breath holds.
20 minBeginner14 movesFirm cushionThese are the same warning signs as our tension headache, neck pain and yoga for headaches guides, word for word. This is general information, not a diagnosis. A&E means accident and emergency; in the US, call 911 for 999, and use your doctor's urgent line or urgent care for NHS 111.
For neck and shoulder discomfort during exercise, use NHS inform's scale for neck exercise: 4 to 5 out of 10 is acceptable, 6 or more is too much, and your neck should be no worse the next morning.
A tension headache isn't made worse by routine activity such as walking or climbing stairs, and you should be able to carry on with your day. If a session brings on a headache, lighten it next time (our suggestion).
A headache triggered or made worse by exercise, coughing, sneezing or bending down is not a pain-rule question: ask for an urgent GP appointment or contact NHS 111. A sudden, extremely painful headache during exercise needs 999.
If you feel a pop or a sudden sharp pain in your neck during a move, stop. If a new headache follows, especially one that eases when you lie down, get advice the same day, and call 999 for any of the urgent headache or brain signs above (our suggestion, from a case report). Don't go back to rolling or upside-down moves until it's been checked.
A first headache brought on by exercise needs checking, and a headache that comes on with coughing or straining has another cause in about 40% of cases, so it needs checking too. A headache that is worse sitting or standing and eases lying down, starting after a class, can mean a spinal fluid leak: get it checked. In a hot room, a headache can be a sign of heat exhaustion, so leave the room, cool down and drink.
Stop, and don't restart that day, for signs of heat exhaustion such as tiredness, dizziness, a headache, feeling sick, heavy sweating, pale and clammy skin or cramps. Call 999 for signs of heatstroke, such as still being unwell after 30 minutes of resting somewhere cool, being cooled and drinking fluids, a very high temperature, hot skin that isn't sweating, confusion, a seizure or loss of consciousness. Get help from NHS 111 if you're struggling to treat heat exhaustion.
Call 999 if:
Call 999 or go to A&E (accident and emergency) straight away for severe difficulty breathing (gasping, choking or not able to get words out), a chest that feels tight or heavy, pain that spreads to your arms, back, neck and jaw, lips or skin turning very pale, blue or grey, or sudden confusion. If you're more short of breath than usual, or your heart is racing, fluttering or skipping beats, contact NHS 111.
You feel any pain or become unwell, as the NHS advises for its Pilates videos, and especially for chest pain or pressure, unusual breathlessness, dizziness or fainting. If you have a health problem, an injury or any symptoms, get advice from a healthcare professional, such as a GP, before you start.
Source 47
The NHS advises getting advice from a healthcare professional first if you have a health problem, an injury or symptoms, or have recently had a heart attack or an operation.
Source 47
No randomised trial has tested Pilates for migraine. The exercise with evidence is aerobic, at about 0.6 fewer migraine days a month, and even that is a modest preventive effect, not a cure.
Forward head posture is commoner in chronic headache, but only in snapshot studies. In the one Pilates headache trial, posture improved most in the Pilates group while its headaches improved least.
In a network analysis of 12 trials, stretching was linked with more headache days and strength exercise with fewer, on very low certainty evidence. Neck and shoulder strengthening and psychological treatment have the better evidence.
The 2023 guideline grades neck strength exercise against as a migraine treatment, from a trial in which it did no better than a sham. A 2026 review found less disability but no clear change in attacks. It can still help the neck pain that comes with migraine.
Migraine pain can be worse when you move around, most people feel worse exercising during an attack, and there is very little evidence that exercise stops one. Rest, and come back when it has passed.
Usually it is muscular or a migraine trigger, but a first headache brought on by exercise needs a bleed and an artery tear ruled out, and a pop in the neck followed by a headache that eases lying down needs checking the same day.
Exercise headache occurs particularly in hot weather, and very intense exercise is a migraine trigger. No study has tested hot Pilates in people with headaches.
It can be part of what helps, but it hasn't been shown to treat headaches on its own. No trial has tested it for migraine or tension headaches, and in the one small trial in headaches from the neck, Pilates alone helped least. Its strength, posture and breathing work fit well alongside the treatments that do have evidence.
Indirectly. The exercise with evidence for migraine is aerobic, such as 40 minutes of cycling 3 times a week, which matched a preventive medicine in one trial. The Migraine Trust counts Pilates as strengthening exercise that can help the neck pain that often comes with migraine, so do both, plus a breathing practice.
Neck and shoulder strengthening and gentle deep neck training have some evidence for tension headaches, and Pilates can include them. Relaxation and CBT-type treatments have the best evidence. Long neck stretches don't seem to help, and were linked with more headache days in one analysis.
Sometimes. Straining with your breath held, head-up curls when your neck is tired, legs-overhead moves, hot rooms, much harder sessions than usual and not eating or drinking can set one off. A first headache brought on by exercise, or one set off by straining, needs an urgent GP appointment or NHS 111.
The usual reasons are neck strain, holding your breath, not drinking or eating enough, heat or a harder session than usual. A headache that is worse sitting or standing and eases lying down, starting after a class, especially after a pop in your neck, needs checking the same day.
Lateral breathing, head-supported mat work such as knee folds, heel slides and bridges, the lying chin tuck, band rows and Y-T-W raises for the shoulder blades, a small swan, and gentle upper-back rotation. Our 20-minute head-supported class puts them in order.
On headache days, leave out the roll-over, jack knife, control balance, boomerang, the high scissors and bicycle, rolling like a ball, the seal and the neck pull, and do curls with your head down. Don't hold your breath in any move.
Usually not: moving about makes migraine worse for most people, and there's very little evidence that exercise stops an attack. Some people find gentle stretching helps them cope. Rest, and come back when it has passed, starting gently.
Usually, with the headrest up, springs you can move without straining or holding your breath, and the jumpboard and legs-overhead moves left for headache-free weeks. No study has looked at the reformer and headaches.
Forward head posture is commoner in people with chronic headaches, but those studies can't show cause. Pilates improved head posture in small trials, but in the one headache trial, better posture didn't mean fewer headaches.
It hasn't been studied. Gentle, steady exercise is reasonable if it doesn't bring on dizziness: stand up slowly from lying moves and keep head-down positions short (our suggestion). Our yoga for vertigo guide covers vestibular migraine.
Call 999 for a headache that came on suddenly and is extremely painful, or comes with weakness, confusion, problems speaking or seeing, or a fever and a stiff neck. Get an urgent GP appointment or NHS 111 for a headache triggered or made worse by coughing, sneezing, bending down or exercising. See a GP if headaches keep coming back or are getting worse.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. If you are pregnant, have a health condition or have had recent surgery, check with a doctor, midwife or physiotherapist before starting, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
