Headaches During Sex is More Common Than Reported, Study

Though only one percent of people report experiencing severe headaches while having sex, the actual number may be much higher, a new study finds.

Do you think you're among the few people that experience moderate to severe headaches during sexual activities? Probably not! The findings of a new study reveal that this phenomenon is more common than reported.

"Many people who experience headaches during sexual activity are too embarrassed to tell their physicians, and doctors often don't ask," said Dr. Jose Biller, lead author of the study, in a press statement.

Though it has become a common joke that partners usually avoid sex by claiming to have a headache, health experts say such an occurrence is no laughing matter. Headaches during sexual activities can be scary and painful. It is also the cause of much frustration for both the sufferer and the partner. Researchers also pointed out that though headaches are often associated to be a consequence of migraine or tension, they could also be a secondary effect of other health conditions.

While most headaches that occur during sexual activities are benign, there are some headaches that can be caused due to serious health issues like hemorrhage, brain aneurysm, stroke, cervical artery dissection or subdural hematoma.

"So we recommend that patients undergo a thorough neurological evaluation to rule out secondary causes, which can be life-threatening," Biller said. "This is especially important when the headache is a first occurrence."

Sexual activities are now considered to be a form of moderate intensity exercise. An association between headaches, sex and exercise was first made by the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates. However, it was only during the 1970s that the condition was formally addressed by physican K. Kritz, according to media reports.

Researchers of the current study pointed out that men were three times more likely to have a headache during sex than women. There are three types of headaches a person can experience while having sex. They are:

• A dull ache in the head and neck that begins before orgasm, and gets worse as sexual arousal increases. It is similar to a tension headache.
• An intensely painful headache that begins during orgasm and can last for hours. It's called a thunderclap headache, because it grabs your attention like a clap of thunder. One of Biller's patients, who asked to remain anonymous, described such a headache this way: "All of a sudden, there was a terrific pain in the back of my head. It like someone was hitting me with a hammer."
• A headache that occurs after sex and can range from mild to extremely painful. The headache gets worse when the patient stands, and lessens when the person lies back down. This headache is caused by an internal leak of spinal fluid, which extends down from the skull into the spine. When there's a leak in the fluid, the brain sags downward when the patient stands, causing pain.

Experiencing sex headaches is a condition also known as coital cephalalgia, orgasmic cephalagia, and benign coital headache.