Overview
The VA hosts many services, programs, and treatments to aid veterans who suffer from different types of headache disorders, including the 27 VHA Headache Centers of Excellence.
These centers can be a collaboration between a Comprehensive Pain Center, Neurology Service and TBI/Polytrauma Clinic. Please work with your primary care provider for the appropriate referral(s).
Your Care Team may include
| Physiatry | Neurology | Pain medicine |
| Brain injury medicine | Case management | Clinical pharmacist |
| Chiropractic | Occupational therapy | Recreation therapy |
| Physical therapy | Psychology | Vision therapy |
| Other consultative services |
Headache and Migraine in the Veteran Population
Prevalence and Care in the VA System
- 16% of Veterans receiving care through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) experience debilitating headache or migraine.
- From October 1, 2007, to September 30, 2022, nearly 1.9 million Veterans were diagnosed and treated for migraine or headache attacks within the VHA system.
- In 2022 alone, nearly 460,000 Veterans sought care in the VHA for a headache disorder.
- Over 20% of those with a headache diagnosis accessed VA Emergency Department services for headache pain treatment.
Headache Risk Linked to Environmental and Service-Related Factors
- Burn pit exposure has been associated with increased headache and migraine risk:[1]
- Veterans with burn pit duties during deployment were:
- 56% more likely to be diagnosed with a headache condition
- 93% more likely to self-report severe headache or migraine
- Veterans with burn pit duties during deployment were:
- Veterans who lived near burn pits without direct duties were:
- 44% more likely to be diagnosed
- 23% more likely to self-report severe headache or migraine
- Post-traumatic headache (PTH) occurs in up to 92% of active-duty military personnel who have sustained a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and is a leading contributor to chronic headache.[5]
Demographics and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Trends
- 40% of Veterans report experiencing chronic headache attacks.
- Between 2008 and 2019, more than 500,000 Veterans were diagnosed with migraine—over 5% of the 10.8 million Veterans in the VHA system during that period.[3]
- Of those:
- 27.8% were women
- 72.2% were men
- Men were three times more likely than women to have a history of TBI.
References
[1] Sico JJ, Anthony SE, Phadke M, Wang K, Skanderson M, Ney JP, Seng EK, Shapiro RE, Sandbrink F, Scholten JD, Graham GD, Martini SR, Fenton BT. Open Burn Pit Exposure in Headache Disorder and Migraine. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Sep 3;7(9):e2431522. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.31522. PMID: 39230902; PMCID: PMC11375476.
[3] Seng EK, Fenton BT, Wang K, Lipton RB, Ney J, Damush T, Grinberg AS, Skanderson M, Sico JJ. Frequency, Demographics, Comorbidities, and Health Care Utilization by Veterans With Migraine: A VA Nationwide Cohort Study. Neurology. 2022 Oct 31;99(18):e1979-e1992. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000200888. PMID: 36100439; PMCID: PMC9651466.
[5] Bader CE, Giordano NA, McDonald CC, Meghani SH, Polomano RC. Musculoskeletal pain and headache in the active duty military population: An integrative review. Worldviews Evid Based Nurs. 2018;15(4):264-271.