Headache

• The sheer number of patients with post-traumatic headache is staggering.
  
• Approximately 1.4 million people in the United States are head injured, and of these, 30 to 50% will develop chronic headaches for more than six months.
  
• Headache is the second most common symptom of whiplash trauma, only after neck pain.
  
• A variety of headaches can arise from whiplash injuries including the following.

1. Cervicogenic. Most headaches from whiplash are considered to be "cervicogenic" or arising from the cervical spine. Complaints include severe headache behind the eyes, temporal and parietal areas, as well as occipital.
2. Tension headaches. This type of headache has pain which may arise from the head, neck and back. Referred pain from damaged myofascia is the most common source of tension headache. Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction (TMD or TMJ) is another possible source of headache pain. Blunt trauma to the soft tissues of the neck or head can also lead to myofascial damage and subsequent headache.
3. Migraine. Myofascial origins of migraine-type headaches have been substantiated. There may be overlapping features between migraine and tension headaches.
4. Vascular. It has been proposed that damage to the vertebral and/or carotid arteries can cause headaches.

Treatment

• Chiropractic care, including muscle work, can offer relief, if not resolution, in many cases.
• Massage therapy
• Medications may be beneficial.
• Surgery should be the last resort. Surgical treatment for occipital neuralgia, for example, have been procedures destructive to nerves and patients often report feeling worse after treatment.