A concussion is a form of traumatic brain injury that alters the way your brain functions. A blow to the head from an accident or contact sports most often causes concussions, but they can also occur when the head or upper body is violently shaken. They can cause a loss of consciousness but not always, and this is one of the reasons why people don’t realize they have had a concussion. Every concussion causes injury to the brain and this injury needs time, rest and often rehabilitation to heal properly. Most concussions are mild traumatic injuries and people can recover fully if guided appropriately.
When you visit your traditional practitioner after sustaining a head injury you will be told to rest and limit activities until your symptoms subside. However, what if you’re not experiencing symptoms, does that mean that you’re fine and should continue regular activities? The answer is no.
First, just because you’re not experiencing symptoms, doesn’t mean that you don’t have a brain injury. Symptoms of a head injury can manifest and affect you well into the future. Next, it is clear from the most current research that it is the number of impacts a person sustains that lead to the most problems over their lifetime. These are called sub-concussive injuries and many of them have “quiet” symptoms and can create impairments that are very subtle and compound over time. These compounded subtle impairments increase the risk of a full-blown concussion and increase the likelihood for problems later in life such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE. You can stop this from happening by getting the evaluation necessary to identify any problems now and treat them before they go unnoticed or result in a full-blown concussion.
Working with a functional neurologist is a great way to ensure that you’re getting the best care for your head injury. They begin all treatment with a thorough physical and neurological evaluation that will help them determine if there are imbalances occurring in your brain and other body systems, and how to correct them. Using computer-assisted therapies and other lifestyle changes your practitioner will guide you through the rehabilitation process.
In addition to treating concussion and traumatic brain injury, when you work with a functional neurologist it can also help with prevention, simply by employing many of the same treatment strategies. A better functioning brain and nervous system can help prevent the injury in the first place, or better handle the impacts that result in concussion due to the body being better able to adapt from the accidents and impacts that cause it. Don’t leave your health to chance and hope that you recover from a head injury, look into how a functional neurologist may be able to help you get back on the path to recovery.