Headaches after traumatic brain injury.

Headache is one of the most common symptoms after traumatic brain injury (often called " post-traumatic headache "). Over 30% of people report having headaches which continue long after injury. Headaches after TBI can be long-lasting, coming and going even past one year. Headaches can make it hard for you to carry out daily activities or can cause you to have more diffi culty thinking and remembering things. Why do headaches happen after brain injury? Right after a severe TBI, people may have headaches because of the surgery on their skulls or because they have small collections of blood or fl uid inside the skull. Headaches can also occur after mild to moderate injury or, in the case of severe TBI, after the initial healing has taken place. These headaches can be caused by a variety of conditions, including a change in the brain caused by the injury, neck and skull injuries that have not yet fully healed, tension and stress, or side effects from medication. These kinds of headaches happen because an area of the brain becomes hy-persensitive and can trigger a pain signal that spreads out to other parts of the brain (like the ripples that spread out after you drop a pebble in water). These headaches typically have the following features:  Dull, throbbing sensation, usually on one side of the head.