Post-Traumatic Headaches: Symptoms

• Headache usually begins immediately or shortly after the injury.
• Pain is generalized, meaning the headache is felt all over the head and frequently in the neck.
• Pain is characterized as aching, throbbing, pounding, pressure, squeezing, stabbing, or expanding.
• Headaches are very intense and at times incapacitating.
• Headaches are likely to be worsened by mental or physical activity.

In addition to chronic headache, the following symptoms are also associated with a closed head injury:

• Personality change
• Impaired memory
• Impaired concentration
• Reduced attention span
• Easy distractibility
• Fatigue
• Dizziness or lightheadedness
• Irritability and anger outbursts
• Mood swings
• Depression

These symptoms can range in severity from being quite subtle to being very obvious to both the patient and others.