PROOF – Whiplash Causes Chronic Post-Traumatic Headache

PROOF – Whiplash Causes Chronic Post-Traumatic Headache

2009 - Research conducted at Department of Neurology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany

In a study published in Neurology, the authors stated, “Over 50%of patients develop mild to moderate headache after the accident, with 8-15% still complaining about frequent headache after 3 months” (Obermann et al., p. 978). There are many times when a healthy individual is injured as a result of a traumatic event, resulting in chronic pain, including headaches. The authors of this study sought to produce OBJECTIVE evidence of whiplash induced headache.

Image Compliments of Medical Legal Art via The Doe Report (www.doereport.com). Copyright © 2010 Medical Legal Art, All rights reserved. The authors report, “Mechanisms associated with the development of chronic pain in this patient population are highly debated and range from psychosomatic to unconfirmed diffuse axonal injury (Obermann et al., p. 978). The authors showed objective structural changes (increase) in brain tissue (gray matter) in patients with chronic posttraumatic headache reporting, “Structural changes seem to reflect neuronal adaptation to the development and cessation of chronic pain in affected patients over time” (Obermann et al., p. 982).

Finally, the authors state, “These results suggest that patients’ concerns are real and should be managed accordingly” (Obermann et al., p. 982). It is imperative that clients that are injured as a result of a traumatic event are triaged accordingly and their care is coordinated by a doctor who understands the nuances of these types of injuries. Many people that are injured do not receive the care they deserve, especially when it comes to posttraumatic headache and whiplash.

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Reference:

Obermann, M., Nebel, K., Schumann, C., Holle, D., Gizewski, E. R. Maschke, M.,... Katsarava, Z. (2009). Gray matter changes related to chronic posttraumatic headache. Neurology, 73(12), 978-983.