Man Hits Head Again and Again
Headaches After Head Injuries — Post-Traumatic Headaches
Seymour Solomon, MD, Headache Unit, Montefiore Medical Centre, Albert Einstein Higher of Medicine
Headache immediately post-obit a head injury unremarkably clears afterwards minutes or days merely sometimes headaches may persist for months or rarely years. The long-term headaches are called mail-traumatic or postal service-concussion headaches.
One can sympathise why headaches may follow a moderate or severe injury to the brain such every bit a concussion (bruise) or laceration (tear). What has been more hard to understand and has presented an ongoing controversy are chronic headaches following mild head injuries.
Mild injuries of the brain are characterized as a concussion (a brief disturbance of brain function causing loss of consciousness or transient difficulty in idea processes).
Because the neurological exam later on mild head injury is normal and standard tests besides as imaging studies (such as MRI or CT of the caput) similarly fail to reveal abnormalities, many thought that the symptoms post-obit mild head injury were psychological.
Simply microscopic studies have shown disruption of the nerve fibers in the brain due to the stretching or shearing forces of the trauma. Other subtle changes accept been noted in brain functioning.
The clinical features of post traumatic headache may vary from one individual to some other. Almost headaches would be now classified as chronic tension-type headache. These headaches are typically a steady anguish affecting both sides of the caput and occurring daily or almost everyday. They are of slight to moderate intensity but intermittently, upon this base of operations of low grade headache bouts of astringent or moderately severe headache may occur and these often are like to, if not identical with migraine (one sided throbbing pain associated with nausea and sensitivity to low-cal and dissonance).
Unfortunately, people who feel mail service-traumatic headaches also feel other symptoms of the post-traumatic or post-concussion syndrome. In that location may be other neurological symptoms such as dizziness, ringing in the ears, vague blurring of vision, psychological symptoms occur such as depression, anxiety, personality modify, disturbance in sleep, and damage libido.
Finally, people with the mail-concussion syndrome take changes in their mental functioning, primarily difficulty in concentration, inability to work efficiently and associated difficulty maintaining attention and retaining memory.
The handling of post-traumatic headache, as well as other features of the post-traumatic syndrome is symptomatic. That is each symptom is treated individually because, unfortunately, there is no medication that will alter the underlying disturbance in the encephalon.
Most often handling of the chronic tension-type headache consists of such medications as the tricyclic antidepressants (for example amitriptyline). These agents non simply diminish depression but also decrease pain.
The periodic worsening of headaches, if they have characteristics of migraine, are treated with typical migraine medications (for example, sumatriptan for an acute attack).
Non-drug methods of therapy are also advisable. Healthy habits should be encouraged by elimination of nicotine and alcohol, by recommendations for regularity with regard to sleep and meal fourth dimension and past exercise at least every other 24-hour interval. Relaxation techniques may be helpful. These can be learned past biofeedback techniques equally well as by such methods equally meditation.
Last but not least is attending to psychological factors. The family unit, friends, and employer or teacher should be educated then the fact that headaches are non purely psychological but have a ground related to the disturbed structure and chemic functions of the encephalon. A psychologist may be helpful in instruction hurting coping techniques and in treating the psychological symptoms that are function of the post-traumatic syndrome.
Fortunately, nearly headaches following head injury gradually taper off within the outset iii to six months. Even those unfortunate individuals who feel symptoms much longer tin exist helped.
Please remember, we are not able to give medical or legal advice. If you lot have medical concerns, delight consult your doctor. All posted comments are the views and opinions of the poster only.
Posted on BrainLine December 15, 2008. Reviewed Baronial 9, 2018.
Well-nigh the Author
Dr. Seymour Solomon is a neurologist in Bronx, New York and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area, including Burke Rehabilitation Infirmary and Montefiore Medical Center. He received his medical caste from Medical College of Wisconsin and has been in exercise for more than than 20 years. He is one of 41 doctors at Burke Rehabilitation Hospital and one of 78 at Montefiore Medical Center who specialize in Neurology.
From Help for Headaches. www.headache-help.org.
Source: https://www.brainline.org/article/headaches-after-head-injuries-post-traumatic-headaches
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