Hello! I’ve recently been diagnosed with Chiari Type 1 malformation. A big reason I was diagnosed was because of the terrible headaches that I get with movement and especially exercise. Over the past few years weightlifting has been the only type of exercise that I really enjoy and am able to stick with consistently. However, over the past 6 months or so I’ve had to almost stop completely because of my headaches. I’ve always been very careful with my form and do everything I can to avoid tension in the neck area, but I seem to get a terrible headache no matter what exercises I’m doing. I was wondering if anyone here has been able to continue strength training with chiari and if you have any tips on how to avoid headaches when exercising?
Hi Emshep, sorry to hear you are having a problem excercising… I have the same problem. Any excercise that strain the neck will cause pain, sometimes also nausea. You need to find excercises that do not impact in any which way on the neck. You might also find that strong walking and jogging will be difficult as it stomps into the neck, irritating the tonsil. Consider doing gym cycling, low key pilates etc.