Post by Dawn on Mar 6, 2009 19:05:18 GMT -5
Post-Traumatic Headache After TBI: BrainLine Talks with Dr. Nathan Zasler
BrainLine sat down with Dr. Nathan Zasler to talk about post-traumatic headache (PTHA), one of the most common complaints after traumatic head and brain injury (TBI). Dr. Zasler is an internationally respected neurorehabilitation physician who specializes in acquired brain injury and has a particular interest in post-traumatic pain disorders including headache.
BrainLine: What is post-traumatic headache, or PTHA?
Dr. Zasler: The term "post-traumatic headache" describes the most common complaint after brain injury: headaches. Unfortunately, PTHA is a "garbage-can" term — a catch-all phrase — because without a more specific diagnosis, PTHA simply states the obvious but doesn't tell you about the cause of the headache or how to treat it.
BrainLine: What types of headaches typically follow a TBI?
Dr. Zasler: There are several different types and causes of headache following a brain, head, or neck injury. The more you know about the various kinds of headache and their causes, the more informed you will be when talking with your doctor or specialist.
* Tension Headaches — Tension-type headaches often feel as if your head is being squeezed by a vice at your temples — the sensitive spots at the side of the head between your ears and eyes. A decrease in tolerance for stress, decreased thinking efficiency and reserve, and depression are often associated with tension headaches.
* Migraine or Neurovascular Headaches — Migraine headaches account for approximately 20 percent of PTHA (although many practitioners will debate this). Migraines are thought to be the result of changes in the blood flow inside the brain. The risk for migraines post-injury appears to be strongly genetically linked.
* Cervical/Cervicogenic Headaches — This kind of PTHA is common after a brain injury and is usually related to neck injury involving ligament, muscle, and/or joint (facet) injury.
* Musculoskeletal Headaches — Musculoskeletal headaches are often overlooked but are quite common after a TBI. Pain in the muscles or bones of the head, neck, shoulders, and/or jaw (see below) can be a source of head pain.
* Temporomandibular Joint Disfunction — TMJD sometimes occurs after trauma and involves injury to the "chewing" muscles around the jaw, or to the jaw joints themselves leading to headaches typically experienced on the side of the head in the temple region(s).
* Neuritic and Neuralgic Pain — Injury to the nerves in the scalp or larger nerves in the face (e.g. supra-orbital) and upper neck (e.g. greater occipital) from the trauma can result in head discomfort as well as headaches that may present with numbness, sensitivity, and/or shooting- or stabbing-type pains.
Read on....there are 4 pages of excellent info here:
www.brainline.org/content/content.php?name=post-traumatic-headache-after-tbi-brainline-talks-dr-nathan-zasler&id=1064
BrainLine sat down with Dr. Nathan Zasler to talk about post-traumatic headache (PTHA), one of the most common complaints after traumatic head and brain injury (TBI). Dr. Zasler is an internationally respected neurorehabilitation physician who specializes in acquired brain injury and has a particular interest in post-traumatic pain disorders including headache.
BrainLine: What is post-traumatic headache, or PTHA?
Dr. Zasler: The term "post-traumatic headache" describes the most common complaint after brain injury: headaches. Unfortunately, PTHA is a "garbage-can" term — a catch-all phrase — because without a more specific diagnosis, PTHA simply states the obvious but doesn't tell you about the cause of the headache or how to treat it.
BrainLine: What types of headaches typically follow a TBI?
Dr. Zasler: There are several different types and causes of headache following a brain, head, or neck injury. The more you know about the various kinds of headache and their causes, the more informed you will be when talking with your doctor or specialist.
* Tension Headaches — Tension-type headaches often feel as if your head is being squeezed by a vice at your temples — the sensitive spots at the side of the head between your ears and eyes. A decrease in tolerance for stress, decreased thinking efficiency and reserve, and depression are often associated with tension headaches.
* Migraine or Neurovascular Headaches — Migraine headaches account for approximately 20 percent of PTHA (although many practitioners will debate this). Migraines are thought to be the result of changes in the blood flow inside the brain. The risk for migraines post-injury appears to be strongly genetically linked.
* Cervical/Cervicogenic Headaches — This kind of PTHA is common after a brain injury and is usually related to neck injury involving ligament, muscle, and/or joint (facet) injury.
* Musculoskeletal Headaches — Musculoskeletal headaches are often overlooked but are quite common after a TBI. Pain in the muscles or bones of the head, neck, shoulders, and/or jaw (see below) can be a source of head pain.
* Temporomandibular Joint Disfunction — TMJD sometimes occurs after trauma and involves injury to the "chewing" muscles around the jaw, or to the jaw joints themselves leading to headaches typically experienced on the side of the head in the temple region(s).
* Neuritic and Neuralgic Pain — Injury to the nerves in the scalp or larger nerves in the face (e.g. supra-orbital) and upper neck (e.g. greater occipital) from the trauma can result in head discomfort as well as headaches that may present with numbness, sensitivity, and/or shooting- or stabbing-type pains.
Read on....there are 4 pages of excellent info here:
www.brainline.org/content/content.php?name=post-traumatic-headache-after-tbi-brainline-talks-dr-nathan-zasler&id=1064
