Fatigue Following TBI It's Real

One of the most frequent complaints following a concussion or mild tbi is cognitive fatigue. Frequently, these complaints following head trauma are dismissed by the family or the medical profession.  In an article in this month's Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, "Subjective Reports of Fatigue During Early Recovery From Traumatic Brain Injury" [J. Head Trauma Rebil Vol. 20, No.5 pp416-425, the authors investigate this complaint and substantiate its association with head trauma.  The study concludes that "Patients reported significantly greater levels of fatigue compared to the levels reported by normal controls, although fatigue was unrelated to the injury severity, number of days from injury to assessment, cognitive impairment and gender. Inspection of individual items revealed no significant differences between severe versus moderate versus mild TBI groups."    The study recommends that accommodations for frequent breaks and interventions to increase endurance should be undertaken in persons suffering from head trauma with complaints of cognitive fatigue.