Chronic Post‐Traumatic Neck and Head Pain

Abstract

Chronic post-traumatic neck and head pain is rarely either organic or psychogenic. Rather physiological, social, and cultural factors play major roles in modulating pain and either perpetuate or ameliorate these chronic pain conditions.

Adjuvant laser acupuncture in the treatment of whiplash injuries: a prospective, randomized placebo-controlled trial

“…The number of patient contacts was similar in the two groups, with a mean of 4.6 (2-9) visits to the outpatient clinic in Group 1 (laser acupuncture) and a mean of 4.5 (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10) in Group 2 (placebo laser acupuncture). The duration of the condition was about 17 (4-32) days in Group 1, two days longer than in Group 2 (range 3-28).…”

“…The most prominent feature is pain in the neck muscles, especially Adjuvant laser acupuncture in the treatment of whiplash injuries: a prospective, randomized placebo-controlled trial Nicolas Aigner 1 , Christian Fialka 2 , Christian Radda 1 , and Vilmos Vecsei 2 on movement and tonic loading, together with headache, restriction of movement in one or more planes, paresthesia in the upper limbs and various otoneurological disorders such as (benign paroxysmal or cervical) vertigo, nystagmus, tinnitus, loss of hearing and Meniere's disease [4][5][6].…”

The notion of a “whiplash culture”: a review of the evidence

“…Nineteen of the remaining articles [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] included a discussion about the cultural aspects of whiplash and were explored to determine which articles were used as a basis for the whiplash culture. Eight studies [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] were found that met this final criterion, which are recorded in Table 1.…”

Posttraumatic Headache in Military Personnel and Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Conflicts

“…This association was not limited to head trauma proximate to headache onset, and a dose-response relationship appeared to be present [13]. Speculation exists that persistence of PTHA is related to cultural factors such as increased litigation in Western societies [9], though direct evidence confirming this link is lacking. Medication overuse headache (MOH) is seen in 19%-42% of PTHA patients and may contribute to chronicity [2,14].…”

“…The incidence of acute PTHA following a concussion ranges from 31% to 96% [8][9][10][11]. PTHAs persist in 32%-78% of patients at 2-3 months, 8%-35% at 1 year, and 20% at 3-4 years [8][9][10][11][12].…”