Headaches after brain injury: tips for Pain Awareness Month

Pain Awareness Month is an important campaign that raises awareness of the causes and effects of pain on people’s lives. Here we're focussing on a common type of pain people experience after brain injury – headaches.

Our publication ‘Headaches after brain injury’ tells you about the different types of headaches and some of the treatments that can help to control them.

If you struggle with headaches after brain injury, the first step is to discuss this with a medical professional such as your GP or neurologist particularly if there are new and rapidly worsening symptoms that could need emergency treatment.

Following this, you can try these everyday tips to help manage the impact of headaches on your day-to-day life.

Lifestyle changes 

Try to get enough sleep. If you struggle with sleeping at night, try to take naps during the day, although avoid doing this later in the afternoon as it may disrupt your natural night-time sleeping cycle. 

Try to stick to a regular sleep routine, where you go to bed at the same time every night and try to wake up at the same time every morning. 

Try to do some gentle exercise every day as part of a healthy lifestyle. 

Introduce relaxation techniques to your routine such as mindfulness. 

Avoid overstraining your eyes, for instance spending long periods of time at a computer/ mobile phone screen or reading. Remember to get your eyes tested by an optician annually. 

Identify triggers

Common triggers include stress, lights, noise, smells, alcohol, weather changes, and fatigue. Where possible, try to minimise or avoid your triggers, although try not to be too anxious about completely avoiding things either if something is out of your control. 

Avoid caffeine, over-the-counter stimulants, other illegal substances (such as marijuana) and alcohol as these can interfere with the recovery process after brain injury and worsen headaches. If you really want to drink coffee or tea, do this in moderation and monitor how you feel afterwards in case they trigger headaches. 

In some instances, hormones may be responsible for triggering headaches. Speak to your GP if you are concerned about your hormones. In some cases brain injury can affect hormones, more information on this is available in our publication ‘Hormonal imbalances after brain injury’.

Consider your diet 

Be aware that some types of food may trigger migraine headaches (the research is mixed), such as chocolate, cheese, citrus fruits and tomatoes. There is no need to completely avoid these foods, but try monitoring how you feel after eating them, or avoid them for a short while to see if it makes any difference. 

Some research suggests that high blood pressure can be related to headaches. A low sodium diet may therefore also be helpful with managing headaches.

Keep a headache diary 

It can be useful to keep a record of your headaches when you experience them as this might help with identifying triggers, learning to manage them, and diagnosing them. 

Make a note of the time when you experience the headache; gradually you may notice if there are certain times of the day when your headaches are at their worst, which may help with planning your days. For instance, if you become aware that you experience headaches in the afternoons, you can try to keep these free as much as possible. 

Keep a record of pain intensity of each headache, using a rating system where 0 is no pain and 10 is excruciating pain. Make some notes each time you log a headache describing how the pain feels, as this may help with identifying what type of headache it is.

Most headaches settle gradually with the passage of time after the injury, although for some people headaches can continue for years. 

To find out more about the causes and treatments that may be available to people with headaches after brain injury, download our publication 'Headaches after brain injury'. 

You can also contact the Headway helpline on 0808 800 2244 or helpline@headway.org.uk to discuss your concerns.