Chronic post-traumatic headache is among the most persistent and treatment-resistant sequelae of mild traumatic brain injury. For clinicians working with post-concussion populations, the clinical picture is familiar: patients arriving months or years after injury, reporting near-daily headaches, cycling through migraine medications with diminishing returns, and often unknowingly compounding their condition through analgesic overuse. This course addresses that clinical reality directly, presenting new peer-reviewed research on acupuncture for chronic post-traumatic headache in mTBI, published in the Journal of Neurotrauma.

This session equips practitioners with a clinically actionable framework that connects acupuncture point selection to specific neuroanatomical targets, including the periaqueductal gray, insular cortex, trigeminal cervical complex, and descending pain inhibitory pathways. Rather than relying on traditional Chinese medicine theory alone, the protocols explored here are grounded in neuroimaging research and contemporary pain neuroscience, giving clinicians a scientifically defensible rationale for integrating acupuncture into mTBI care. Emerging diffusion tensor imaging data showing increased fractional anisotropy in white matter tracts following acupuncture treatment adds a new dimension to understanding how this intervention may support structural recovery.

This course is designed for licensed acupuncturists, functional neurologists, chiropractors, and integrative clinicians who manage patients with post-concussion syndrome and want to expand their evidence base in a domain where pharmacological options are limited and patient dissatisfaction is high.

Dr. Ayla Wolf is a doctor of acupuncture and oriental medicine, associate professor of acupuncture at the Carrick Institute, and a published clinical researcher. Her work has appeared in the Journal of Neurotrauma and Global Advances in Integrative Medicine. She is the host of the Life After Impact podcast and a contributing author to the Concussion Discussions book series, bringing two decades of specialized clinical experience to this presentation.