Neurotherapy for chronic headache following traumatic brain injury

David V. Nelson; Mary Lee Esty

Your Location：

Home >

Browse articles >

Neurotherapy for chronic headache following traumatic brain injury

RESEARCH | Updated：2022-12-27

- Neurotherapy for chronic headache following traumatic brain injury
- Military Medical Research Vol. 2, Issue 2, Pages: 91-95(2015)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.Department of Psychology and Philosophy, Box 2447, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX 77341, USA
  2.Brain Wellness and Biofeedback Center of Washington, 7910 Woodmont Ave #305, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA
- Author bio：
  
  *: nelsondv@shsu.edu
- Funds：
- DOI：
  CLC：
- Published：2015-06
- Accepted：
Scan QR Code
David V. Nelson, Mary Lee Esty. Neurotherapy for chronic headache following traumatic brain injury[J]. Military Medical Research, 2015, 2(2): 91-95.
DOI：

David V. Nelson, Mary Lee Esty. Neurotherapy for chronic headache following traumatic brain injury[J]. Military Medical Research, 2015, 2(2): 91-95. DOI：

摘要

Abstract

Background:

Chronic headache following traumatic brain injury (TBI) sustained in military service

while common

is highly challenging to treat with existing pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions

and it may be complicated by co-morbid posttraumatic stress. Recently

a novel form of brainwave-based intervention known as the Flexyx Neurotherapy System (FNS)

which involves minute pulses of electromagnetic energy stimulation of brainwave activity

has been suggested as a means to address symptoms of TBI. This study reports on a clinical series of patients with chronic headache following service-connected TBI treated with FNS.

Methods:

Nine veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq with moderate to severe chronic headaches following service-connected TBI complicated by posttraumatic stress symptoms were treated in 20 individual FNS sessions at the Brain Wellness and Biofeedback Center of Washington (in Bethesda

Maryland

USA). They periodically completed measures including the Brief Pain Inventory-Headache (BPI-HA)

previous week worst and average pain ratings

the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Military version (PCL-M)

and an individual treatment session numerical rating scale (NRS) for the degree of cognitive dysfunction. Data analyses included beginning-to-end of treatment t-test comparisons for the BPI-HA

PCL-M

and cognitive dysfunction NRS.

Results:

All beginning-to-end of treatment t-test comparisons for the BPI-HA

PCL-M

and cognitive dysfunction NRS indicated statistically significant decreases. All but one participant experienced a reduction in headaches along with reductions in posttraumatic stress and perceived cognitive dysfunction

with a subset experiencing the virtual elimination of headaches. One participant obtained modest headache relief but no improvements in posttraumatic stress or cognitive dysfunction.

Conclusions:

FNS may be a potentially efficacious treatment for chronic posttraumatic headache sustained in military service. Further research is needed to investigate the efficacy of FNS within a randomized

controlled clinical trial to identify the characteristics of those most likely to respond and to explore underlying mechanisms that may contribute to improvements.

关键词

Keywords

references

Risdall JE , Menon DK . Traumatic brain injury . Phil Trans R Soc B . 2011 ; 366 : 241 - 50 .

Bigler ED . Neuroimaging biomarkers in mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) . Neuropsychol Rev . 2013 ; 23 : 169 - 209 .

Taylor PA , Ludwigsen JS , Ford CC . Investigation of blast-induced traumatic brain injury . Brain Inj . 2014 ; 28 : 379 - 95 .

Lew HL , Lin PH , Fuh JL , Wang SJ , Clark DJ , Walker WC . Characteristics and treatment of headache after traumatic brain injury . Am J Phys Med Rehabil . 2006 ; 85 : 619 - 27 .

Theeler BJ , Flynn FG , Erikson JC . Headaches after concussion in US soldiers returning from Iraq or Afghanistan . Headache . 2010 ; 50 : 1262 - 72 .

Ruff RL , Ruff SS , Wang XF . Headaches among Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom veterans with mild traumatic brain injury associated with exposures to explosions . J Rehabil Res Develop . 2008 ; 45 : 941 - 52 .

Evans RW . Posttraumatic headaches in civilians, soldiers, and athletes . Neurol Clin . 2014 ; 32 : 283 - 303 .

Seifert TD , Evans RW . Posttraumatic headache: a review . Curr Pain Headache Rep . 2010 ; 14 : 292 - 8 .

Hoge CW , Castro CA , Messer SC , McGurk D , Cotting DI , Koffman RL . Combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, mental health problems, and barriers to care . N Engl J Med . 2004 ; 351 : 13 - 22 .

McAllister TW , Stein MB . Effects of psychological and biomechanical trauma on brain and behavior . Ann NY Acad Sci . 2010 ; 1208 : 46 - 57 .

Bryant R . Post-traumatic stress disorder vs traumatic brain injury . Dialogues Clin Neurosci . 2011 ; 13 : 251 - 62 .

Tanev KS , Pentel KZ , Kredlow MA , Charney ME . PTSD and TBI co-morbidity: scope, clinical presentation and treatment options . Brain Inj . 2014 ; 28 : 261 - 70 .

Afari N , Harder LH , Madra NJ , Heppner PS , Moeller-Bertram T , King C , et al . PTSD, combat injury, and headache in veterans returning from Iraq/Afghanistan . Headache . 2009 ; 49 : 1267 - 76 .

Theeler BJ , Erickson JC . Posttraumatic headache in military personnel and veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts . Curr Treat Options Neurol . 2012 ; 14 : 36 - 49 .

Mullally WJ , Hall K , Goldstein R . Efficacy of biofeedback in the treatment of migraine and tension type headaches . Pain Physician . 2009 ; 12 : 1005 - 11 .

Nestoriuc Y , Martin A , Rief W , Andrasik F . Biofeedback treatment for headache disorders: a comprehensive efficacy review . Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback . 2008 ; 33 : 125 - 40 .

Collura TF . Technical foundations of neurofeedback . New York : Routledge ; 2014 .

Nelson DV , Esty ML . Neurotherapy of traumatic brain injury/posttraumatic stress symptoms in OEF/OIF veterans . J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci . 2012 ; 24 : 237 - 40 .

Ochs L . Flexyx Neurotherapy System Operating Manual for the J&J USE2 and the I-330 Compact 2C EEG . Walnut Creek (CA) : Flexyx LLC ; 1997-98 .

Cleeland CS . Measurement of pain by subjective report . In: Chapman CR , Loeser JD , editors . Issues in pain measurement . New York : Raven ; 1989 . p. 391 - 403 .

Elhai JD , Gray MJ , Kashdan TB , Franklin CL . Which instruments are most commonly used to assess traumatic event exposure and posttraumatic effects? A survey of traumatic stress professionals . J Trauma Stress . 2005 ; 18 : 541 - 5 .

Wilkins KC , Lan AJ , Norman SB . Synthesis of the psychometric properties of the PTSD checklist (PCL) military, civilian, and specific versions . Depress Anxiety . 2011 ; 28 : 596 - 606 .

Tavel ME . The placebo effect: the good, the bad, and the ugly . Am J Med . 2014 ; 127 : 484 - 8 .

Views

Downloads

CSCD

Alert me when the article has been cited

Submit

Tools

Publicity Resources

Treating traumatic brain injury at sea: how to improve the skills and capabilities of the naval medical personnel

Military traumatic brain injury: a challenge straddling neurology and psychiatry

Dementia in military and veteran populations: a review of risk factors—traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, deployment, and sleep

Traumatic brain injury and sight loss in military and veteran populations – a review

Coupling Vibration Analysis on Yuxi River Bridge of Wuhu Yangtze River Bridge

Related Author

Tao Xu

Xin-Jie Hong

Kai-Wei Han

Rong-Bin Chen

Liang Zhao

Dan-Feng Zhang

Lei Jiang

Yi-Ming Li

Related Institution

Department of Neurosurgery, Changzheng Hospital, Naval Medical University

MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science and Brain-Machine Integration, Zhejiang University

Zhejiang Engineering Center for Mathematical Mental Health

Brain Research Institute of Zhejiang University

the Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder’s Management in Zhejiang Province

⁰