Background

Patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) may develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety. Despite decades of research investigating treatment options, these mental health symptoms remain a major cause of quality-of-life impairment. In a series of patients with PTSD being treated with peripheral somatosensory stimulation (PSS), we further evaluated 3 patients who had suffered from TBI to detail their clinical response to therapy.

Methods

Three patients with TBI and PTSD underwent daily PSS therapy over a 4-week period. Patients were evaluated using a Veterans Affairs TBI scale of cognitive impairment and subjective mental health symptoms at baseline and then at the conclusion of the treatments. All data were obtained through a self-reported survey.

Results

Three men with TBI and PTSD completed one month of daily PSS therapy. No adverse events were described by the patients. All patients demonstrated improvement in terms of their scores assessing cognitive impairment and subjective symptoms. The Patients beginning with greater impairment appeared to derive more benefit from therapy.

Conclusions

PSS stimulation appeared to improve symptoms in three patients with TBI and PTSD. Symptoms related to both anxiety and depression were improved. We suggest that further investigation into the potential usefulness of PSS therapy in patients with TBI and mental health symptoms is warranted.