06/16/2022
TBI and Post-Concussion Headaches Treated with Neurotherapy
Conclusions stated “. . . TBI survivors may benefit from improved motivation for treatment and some reduction of symptoms related to attention, mood, and mindfulness, with the addition of neurofeedback to treatment.”
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), which can range from mild to severe, is a prevalent problem in both military and civilian populations. The CDC estimates that more than 280,000 hospitalization and 2.2 million emergency room visits are associated with a TBI diagnosis annually. It can lead to permanent disability. Common causes of TBI are varied ranging from trauma with causes like concussion or head injury from motor vehicle accidents, to anoxic episodes like stroke or near drowning episodes.
TBI symptoms, presentation, and recovery can vary greatly, depending on the severity of the injury, part(s) of the brain that are injured, and type of injury sustained, among other factors.1,8 Symptoms can include headaches, mood changes, fatigue, and memory issues, as well as problems with attention and concentration, and have been shown to affect satisfaction with life.
Patients who do continue to suffer from symptoms longer-term also can struggle with finding effective treatments to address their symptoms.1,11,12 Medical providers, medications, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech language therapies, and behavioral health professionals can all play vital roles in the recovery from a brain injury, but even the most effective therapies are sometimes not enough to resolve residual symptoms in some TBI survivors.
Biofeedback modalities which include use of quantitative EEG measurements and guidance have been shown to be effective in improving symptoms for these patients and have helped train users to become more aware of their physiologic responses to emotional, cognitive, or physical stimuli, and to gain more control over these responses, with the goal of being able to translate these abilities into real life settings.
For example, in patients with symptoms, such as headaches or attention problems following a brain injury, a sample biofeedback protocol could involve a general stress and relaxation assessment or brainwaves via EEG. This allows what used to be a complicated sprawl of EEG waves to be analyzed and compressed down to a workable program where the patient simply watches a video which either lightens or darkens with the (involuntary) brain wave alterations that the patient is individually programmed to move towards. With the use of qEEG the patient can exercise their inherent neuroplasticity to retune their brain pathways to an optimum state.
This may take anywhere between 20 and up to 60 NON-INVASIVE sessions for the patient to have peak benefit.
Historically, the EEG, which records electrical activity of the brain over time, was introduced in 1929 and was shown to respond to volitional control via operant conditioning by 1962.12,18,27
More recently, with the corresponding technological advances computers provided, quantitative EEG, which digitizes the EEG signal, has been introduced as the newer generation of EEG neurofeedback. This allows for more clinical sensitivity and specificity, although protocols and use of the equipment can vary from practitioner to practioner.4,12,18,27–29 EEG patterns have been shown to be different in individuals following TBI, and have even been shown to predict prognosis in some cases.7,12,26,27
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5580369/
