Headache and Migraine After Concussion: When a Head Injury Won’t Let Go

A concussion is supposed to heal in days or weeks. For a significant number of people, the headaches that follow don’t. Post-traumatic headaches are one of the most common and most persistent effects of a concussion, and for many patients it takes on the exact features of migraine: throbbing pain, light and sound sensitivity, nausea, and attacks that flare with exertion or stress.

Researchers believe head trauma can sensitize the same trigeminal nerve pathways involved in ordinary migraine, essentially rewiring the pain system to fire more easily. This is especially true for people who had a personal or family history of migraine headaches before their injury, though post-traumatic headache can also appear in people who never had headaches before.

This matters for recovery timelines too. Athletes, students, and workers are often told to simply rest and wait for concussion symptoms to fade, but when headaches persist well past the typical healing window, waiting alone rarely resolves them.