Headache occurring during rehabilitation in a migrainous patient with cervical spinal cord injury

Abstract

Traumatic vertebral artery (VA) dissection is a severe consequence of a cervical injury, which usually involves the vertebrae and spinal cord. Traumatic VA dissection has been frequently underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed, mainly because many patients remain asymptomatic. The consequence of VA dissection is ischemia in the territory supplied by the affected artery. The VA dissection presents most often as a vertebrobasilary transient ischemic attack or ischemic stroke, usually preceded by local symptoms such as neck pain or headache. Headache is a common symptom in patients with cervical artery dissection, but its characters are not specific. Diagnosis of VA dissection usually requires a CT-angiography. Delayed onset of symptoms with a variable asymptomatic interval, ranging from several days to 3 months, has been reported. The risk of stroke remains high, especially in the first weeks after the confirmation of VA dissection. Treatment of traumatic VA dissections include anticoagulation or antiplatelet therapy and revascularization techniques. We present the case of a patient with spinal cord injury and operated C5 fracture, who was diagnosed with unilateral VA dissection 6 months after the traumatic event, during the rehabilitation program.