Headaches are the most common symptom after traumatic brain injury, occurring in up to 90 percent of patients at least a few days after suffering a concussion. These headaches may also follow other causes of head trauma, such as bacterial and viral brain infections, carbon monoxide poisoning, "chemical" brain, transient ischemic attack, and COVID-19.

Symptoms improve within weeks for the vast majority of people with posttraumatic headache (PTH); however, for some patients, headaches may persist for months or years. In addition to headaches, these patients may experience a variety of other persistent symptoms, such as long covid brain, mood swings or "personality changes," memory problems and difficulty concentrating. This condition is called post-concussion syndrome (PCS).

In PCS patients, the most common types of chronic posttraumatic headaches include tension-type headaches and migraines. If you are experiencing these types of headaches and your doctor has prescribed pain medication to manage the pain, you may find that your headaches do not respond well to the medication. We've written in detail why drug therapy is often not a good solution for PCS patients.

According to the article How Long Will Symptoms Of Headache Last Following COVID-19 Infection?, while PTH patients often use pain medication and/or antidepressants to relieve symptoms, SSRIs may exacerbate or cause headaches, and pain medications can cause rebound Headache. Treating post-traumatic headaches is complex and may require a multidisciplinary approach. Therefore, simply seeing a doctor such as a neurologist may not be enough to address your symptoms.
 

What is a Post Traumatic Headache?

 
One of the most debilitating symptoms you can experience after a concussion or other head injury is a headache. These headaches are called post-traumatic headaches (PTH). Surprisingly, post-traumatic headaches are more common after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) than moderate or severe TBI.

The International Headache Society defines such headaches as headaches arising from trauma to the head that occur within seven days of the event or after regaining consciousness. However, doctors have questioned this part of the International Classification of Headache Disorders because some patients do not start experiencing concussion-induced headaches months or even years after the neurological trauma.

Although the official definition includes headaches after traumatic events, we found that patients with other conditions that can affect the brain, such as carbon monoxide poisoning, viral infections, and COVID-19, also experience the same types of headaches.

Patients may experience acute or persistent headaches. Acute headaches usually subside within three months of the event, while persistent headaches can persist for more than three months. For many PCS patients, their acute headaches become longer-lasting or chronic symptoms; in fact, more than half of patients who experience headaches immediately after a concussion continue to experience them 12 months after the trauma.

For most patients, headaches following mild traumatic brain injury (mild TBI) are not life-threatening and do not leave sequelae. However, there are certain situations in which you should seek medical advice, including: the headache is significantly worse than usual and continues to worsen, you also experience nausea and vomiting, your arms are numb, you struggle to speak, you experience severe drowsiness.

At LongCovidCareCenter, we offer an alternative treatment that is not dependent on drugs. We combine exercise and multidisciplinary therapy to address the underlying causes of post-traumatic headaches. Treatment can improve headaches while also addressing many other common, persistent symptoms of head trauma.

After just one week of treatment at the LongCovidCareCenter, which specializes in neuroplasticity-based treatments, our patients experienced a 60% improvement in symptoms. If you are suffering from headaches, brain fog and other symptoms caused by Covid, you can consult us for a detailed examination and determine post covid brain fog treatment for you to recover quickly.