Post-Concussion Headaches

It’s painful enough to suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI) from a sports injury or automobile accident. There are serious repercussions from a TBI on your overall health. But you may also have to deal with post-concussion headaches from the injury, and they may not start until days or weeks later. To treat these post-concussion headaches, you first need a proper diagnosis, and the best place to get that is at the Advanced Headache Center, with eight offices throughout Manhattan and Bergen County, NJ. Dr. Amr Hosny is a Harvard-trained pain management specialist who treats headaches and migraines. Call today for a consultation.

What Is a Post-Concussion Headache?

During a concussion, your head and brain are snapped back and forth with the impact of a hit, such as from a car accident or sports injury. The rapid movement of your head — it happens in the blink of an eye — causes your brain to bounce or twist inside your skull. The force can damage brain cells and create chemical changes in your brain.

A post-concussion headache often follows the occurrence of a traumatic brain injury (TBI). These headaches can persist long after the injury. Chronic post-concussion headaches affect the quality of your life due to excruciating pain and other symptoms. If you have debilitating headaches weeks or months after a concussion, whiplash, or another type of TBI, you require medical attention. Early diagnosis enables effective treatment, but it all starts with an accurate diagnosis.

That’s why it helps consult with a headache specialist like Dr. Amr Hosny at the Advanced Headache Center in Manhattan and Paramus, NJ. A board-certified pain management specialist, he uses the latest medical technology for diagnosis and then implements a multimodal approach to deliver effective post-concussion headache and migraine treatment.

Are There Different Types of Post-Concussion Headaches?

Post-concussion headaches feel different from ordinary headaches, such as sinus headaches or thunderclap headaches. This is due to the location and reason for these headaches. While some headaches and migraine causes aren’t known, there’s usually a direct correlation between a post-concussion headache and its cause.

But there are different types of post-concussion headaches. Many types of accidents can lead to concussions, resulting in a traumatic brain injury. Post-concussion headaches can incapacitate you and lower the quality of your life. Dr. Hosny carries out tests to diagnose which type you have before treatment can begin. The headaches you can experience from a TBI include:

• Autonomic nervous system (ANS) headaches. This type involves headaches that are caused by vascular or cerebral blood flow complications. With these headaches, you feel tightness, like a band around your head.
• Cervicogenic headache. These headaches are caused by specific damage or injury to your cervical spine, and You may also feel neck pain and tension.
• Migraines. These headaches are characterized by extreme throbbing or pulsating pain, sometimes in only one side of your head. You often experience an aura — a sensory change or disturbance — as a warning sign before the actual migraine attack.

Am I Suffering from a Post-Concussion Headache?

Many concussions go unreported, but after you recover, you may continue to suffer the effects of the traumatic brain injury, including a post-concussion headache. In addition to the pain in your head, you can tell if you have a post-concussion headache by watching out for the other symptoms of a TBI. Some signs that you have a post-concussion headache include:

• A feeling of tension, tightness, or pressure on your head, as if a tight band was wrapped around your head.
• The tension that starts in your neck and spreads up to the top of your head
• A constant pressure headache
• The throbbing, sharp, and stabbing pain of a migraine
• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Ringing in your ears called tinnitus
• Balance problems
• Vision problems before the headache started
• Cognitive problems involving memory, concentration, and clear thinking
• Insomnia
• A depressed mood, irritability, or anxiety

Post-concussion headaches are a type of secondary headache, meaning an underlying condition causes them. The headache specialists at the Advanced Headaches Center — with eight locations in New York City and Bergen County, New Jersey — carry out diagnostic tests and review your medical history to get to the cause of your headache. The findings form the basis of your personalized treatment plan.

How Are Post-Concussion Headaches Cured?

Post-concussion headache treatment is part of your recovery from a traumatic brain injury. Dr. Hosny always selects the most appropriate treatment for you based on your individual diagnosis. Some treatment options for post-concussion headaches include.

• Lifestyle changes, including getting better sleep, eating healthier, managing your stress, and drinking lots of water
• Medications, including those specifically for migraines
• Physical therapy
• Graduated exercise therapy
• Migraine treatments, such as intravenous infusions, an occipital nerve block, or trigger point injections
• Alternative therapies, such as acupuncture, chiropractic care, light therapy, guided relaxation, vision therapy, or meditation
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy

If you were recently in an accident and started experiencing debilitating headaches, talk to your doctor. A headache specialist is in a better position to reach a diagnosis of a post-concussion headache than a family doctor. Contact Dr. Hosny and his team at the Advanced Headache Center in New York City and Paramus, New Jersey. After diagnosis, they develop an individualized headache treatment plan for you to deliver the best outcomes.

Dr. Hosny is an Ivy League Trained, UCNS-accredited, board-certified headache specialist who offers the latest preventive and abortive treatments to provide safe and effective head pain relief. As an active member of prominent organizations and professional societies that advance headache science, education, and management, such as the National Headache Foundation, Dr. Hosny specializes in diagnosing and treating a wide range of head pain disorders, including tension headaches, migraines, and cluster headaches, to name a few.

Dr. Hosny's reputation for enhancing headache care quality through the use of the most effective and technologically advanced treatment options for persistent primary and secondary chronic headaches has been acknowledged by Castle Connolly and Healthgrades, where he has received over 200 positive reviews. Dr. Hosny is also recognized as a distinguished New York City physician and headache specialist by New York Magazine.

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