Diagnosis and Treatment of Post-Traumatic Headache

ABSTRACT

Headache after trauma, such as a traffic accident are the most commonly reported as post-traumatic headache (PTH), a secondary headache disorder following traumatic brain injury or whiplash injury. Post-traumatic headache has various clinical features in terms of intensity, frequency, and duration of pain. The characteristics of PTH are often similar to primary headaches such as migraines or tension-type headaches, and may be accompanied by or sequentially present, other symptoms including fatigue, difficulty concentrating, dizziness, visual and auditory symptoms, emotional disturbances, anxiety, depression, and general irritability. Therefore, the diagnosis and therapeutic approach may vary depending on the patient’s condition, so careful consideration by the clinicians is required in the medical process. We believe that this review can be valuable in the classification, diagnosis, and therapeutic approaches for headache after traffic accident.