Hair‐Normalized Cortisol Waking Response as a Novel Biomarker of Hypothalamic‐Pituitary‐Adrenal Axis Activity following Acute Trauma: A Proof‐of‐Concept Study with Pilot Results

The mechanisms underlying the development of persistent posttraumatic pain and disability remain elusive. Recent evidence suggests that disordered stress-system pathway (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis) activity may be responsible for the genesis and maintenance of long-term sensory and emotional problems. However, confidence in current evidence is limited by the necessarily retrospective collection of data. Hair cortisol can serve as a …