Personal Injury Law

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Fatigue

By Bruce Stern

We have known for quite some time that fatigue is one of the three most common symptoms of mild traumatic brain injury interfering with participation in work, home and social activities. A new study from the Department of Psychology, Massey University in Palmerston North, New Zealand, examined fatigue in the first six months after mild traumatic brain injury using a prospective longitudinal design while excluding known confounding factors such as litigation, presence of psychological or neurological disorders and substance abuse. Of importance, the study focused only on mild traumatic brain injury, thus providing 'specific evidence of the role of fatigue after mild head trauma not easily identifiable in previous studies that use mixed severity samples'.

The research showed that over half of the participants reported pathological fatigue immediately after injury and that a third to a quarter of the sample continued to report pathological fatigue three to six months later. The authors noted 'for those reporting fatigue problems at three months, there was a strong likelihood they would report fatigue at six months post-MTBI. Clinically, this is an important finding of the study as post-MTBI fatigue appears to move into the realm of persistent post-concussion symptoms after three months post-MTBI.

This study once again proves the significance of fatigue and its effect on persons who have sustained a mild traumatic brain injury.

The article is entitled 'Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Fatigue: A Prospective Longitudinal Study' by Norie J, Heitger M, Leathem J, Anderson T, Jones R and Flett R. The article was published in Brain Injury at Vol. 24, N. The article can be found at Brain Injury, December, 2010; 24 (13-14): 1519-1527. Brain Injury is the official research journal of the International Brain Injury Association.

Full post as published by Traumatic Brain Injury Law Blog on December 22, 2010 (boomark / email).