Should you worry if the day after a back workout you begin having sudden, brief but intense, very localized headaches that last only seconds?
An icepick headache is a sudden, sharp pain anywhere in one’s head that typically lasts for a few seconds.
In my case the location was near the temple, kind of on the side and a little lower.
In some cases, this type of headache feels stabbing or piercing, hence its name.
Mine were not this intense, but enough to really get my attention. They were “dings.”
They occurred throughout the day, and there were no other issues alongside these; just that sudden onset of sharp pain or dinging.
Have you been having icepick headaches lately?
Ask yourself, as I had done myself, “What did I do recently that could be causing a nerve near my head to be buzzed?”
The day prior, I was in the gym for back day.
You may be wondering how working the back muscles could cause an icepick headache.
What might come to mind is muscle tension. If you killed your back workout, why wouldn’t your muscles have lingering tension?
The traps, rhomboids and muscles along the spine all connect into the neck and shoulders.
When these muscles become very tight or sore after training, they can tug on the neck and upper back.
That tension can then radiate upward and create the sensation of a headache, even a sharp one that lasts seconds.
The icepick episodes being in the same spot simply means that it’s the same overworked muscle that keeps acting up.
• Did you add a new routine on your back day?
• I did, and perhaps that’s all it took to generate a kind of muscle tension to cause pain to radiate into my head.
• My back day includes the conventional deadlift, stationary tire squat/lift, dumbbell deadlift and farmer walk.
• But that’s not all. It also included dumbbell presses on a fitness ball; these engage the delts and certainly tense up the traps and neck (I keep my neck elevated rather than resting on the ball).
Another thing to ask is how was your form?
Many people unconsciously arch their neck, grit their teeth or strain their jaw while performing heavy movements like rows, deadlifts or pull-downs.
Did you work extra hard that day? Have a form break?
You can easily get icepick headaches after back (and even chest) day even if you’ve never had them before despite years of lifting weights.
There’s always a first time that a muscle just feels beat and buzzed more than usual.
Extra strain when lifting puts pressure on the cervical (neck) muscles, and irritation in those areas often presents as a headache later on.
The Soreness and Sleep
If you toss and turn because of discomfort, the lack of deep rest combined with awkward sleep posture may leave you more vulnerable to headaches the next day.
I myself didn’t have soreness – at least not any that I consciously noticed (I’ve been lifting for decades).
But I kicked butt the day prior. So what had been different then?
Again, I had added a new routine (three sets’ worth); I had lifted extra fiercely with the dumbbell presses; and it’s also possible that this one time, my thrashed muscles had a harder time calming down the next day.
Perhaps I had craned my neck more than usual during a set.
Maybe a tense muscle decided to press on a nerve, and what I’d experienced was a nerve sending a signal upward, causing the pain.
The icepick episodes went throughout the day, but began subsiding around dinner time, and in the evening were completely gone.
Brain Aneurysm
It’s natural to wonder about this, and it can be downright frightening.
My normal brain MRI two and a half years prior – for an unrelated symptom (whooshing sound in the ear with each heartbeat) – was absolute reassurance that I didn’t have a leaking aneurysm.
What should also be very reassuring is if the icepick headaches begin subsiding as the day goes on, and there are no additional symptoms such as nausea, one-sided weakness or vision problems.
3D Animation of Aneurysm Formation and Rupture
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified by the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness, where she was also a group fitness instructor, she trained clients of all ages and abilities for fat loss and maintaining it, muscle and strength building, fitness, and improved cardiovascular and overall health.
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