A head injury like a concussion can leave a lasting impact on the whole body.
The neck connects the head and spinal cord, so one can often have an effect on the other. Any head injury, such as a concussion, can leave the sufferer with nerve damage because trauma to the head can affect the spinal cord, which has connections everywhere in the body.
At Optimum Health Rehabilitation Center, we focus on understanding how your Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) affected your nerve function, then we create a proactive course of treatment to aid the recovery process.
Our care specialists can utilize innovative medical technology to promote rapid progress in your injury rehabilitation journey in a non-invasive way. We also provide rehabilitative services, helping you regain motor function and coordination in the wake of your injury.
Stay in control of your health with the resources available from our local team of professionals. To schedule a complimentary appointment with a trusted team member, contact us online or call (770)887-9443.
How Do You Know If You Have a Concussion?
Most of the time, a bump to the head isn’t anything to be alarmed over, but how can you tell if the situation is more serious?
A traumatic brain injury (TBI), is a disruption to the normal function of the brain caused by a forceful bump, blow, or jolt. A concussion is a mild TBI that can affect anyone, from infancy all the way into their golden years.
Just because it is considered a mild injury does not mean that it can’t have serious, lasting effects. A mild injury or condition is classified as such because it won’t ever result in death in the majority of cases.
However, a concussion can still affect many crucial brain functions, like memory, judgment, reflexes, speech, balance, and muscle coordination.
What to Do After a Possible Concussion
There are many symptoms of a concussion, but it is important to trust your gut with this type of injury. Many people report a feeling that ‘something was off’ after the injury, and this uneasy feeling can oftentimes be one of the biggest indicators.
A popular myth is that concussions are directly related to going unconscious, but most people who endure a concussion won’t lose consciousness.
While many people who endure concussions report a moment of amnesia or ‘blackout,’ not everyone who suffers from a concussion will. This experience can make figuring out a person is concussed much harder.
After any impact to the head, it is imperative that the person stays awake for at least the next few hours to monitor for symptoms of a concussion.
You should never self-diagnose a concussion, so if you begin to experience related symptoms, see a medical professional for an assessment immediately.
Head injuries are especially complex, and even a minor TBI, such as a concussion, can have serious effects if left unexamined and untreated by a doctor. Most symptoms of a concussion will typically appear shortly after the impact, but more extreme signs may develop later.
Common Symptoms of a Concussion
Some of the most common symptoms of a concussion include:
- Headache
- Confusion
- Lack of coordination
- Dizziness
- Slurred speech or changes in speech patterns
- Ringing in the ears
- Feeling tired or fatigued
- Trouble concentrating
- Feelings of something being ‘off’
Note that many concussions can present differently than the symptoms listed above. If you experience any major changes in senses or cognition after a blow to the head, take the cautious route, and get your condition checked out by a medical doctor.
Concussions: Treatment and Recovery
There are two phases of the recovery process before an injured person is deemed fully recovered. If either healing phase takes an abnormal length of time, contact a medical professional.
Acute Symptomatic Phase
This is the first stage of the recovery process, where the injured person will still be feeling the bulk of their uncomfortable symptoms. In the acute symptomatic phase, a person should not be working, doing exercise, or partaking in any strenuous activities that might overwhelm the brain.
Just like the advice for student-athletes, all persons recovering from a concussion should take a few days off and avoid any activity that may disrupt the healing process.
A specialist from Optimum Health can run diagnostic tests to determine the severity of your TBI and guide you through the best practices to promote rapid healing.
Recovery Phase
In this stage, you’ll notice symptoms are dulled and may begin to feel like things are returning back to normal.
When the headaches die down and any other symptoms subside, easing into simple activities like listening to music, reading, or watching tv can be an excellent way to help the brain get used to additional stimuli again.
At this stage, working with our team at Optimum Health can mean having innovative medical technology and experienced care specialists to offer treatment that aids the brain in gradually returning to a sense of normalcy.
This phase is also typically when more-serious symptoms could develop, indicating that the damage to the brain is progressing rather than recovering. If a person feels as though their concussion is worsening in this stage instead of healing, visit a doctor immediately.
Preventing a Concussion
Accidents happen, and while no one intends to hit their head, the brain’s sensitivity leaves it at risk of injury in many types of common activities and causes of accidents.
Preventing a concussion could simply mean being more prepared in emergency situations and following safety protocols in daily life activities.
While there is no guaranteed way to prevent a concussion, following these tips can dramatically decrease your risk in certain situations:
- Always wear your seatbelt.
- Helmets are important not just for cyclists and skateboarders but also for horseback riders, skiers, and those in any contact sport.
- Invest in safety gates on stairs for young children.
- Use hand-railings.
- Strategically place flashlights or night lights around the home so you are never walking in the dark.
- Install safety guards on windows.
How Are Concussions Diagnosed?
To diagnose a concussion, a care provider typically cannot rely on imaging scans or other screenings. Instead, they’ll review the details of your accident and analyze your current state to provide their professional determination.
They’ll walk you through simple tests that assess your brain’s functions and go from there.
If your care provider suspects a more serious brain injury, you may need further imaging scans such as a CT or MRI scan.
During your concussion test, the neurological examiner may evaluate your:
- Ability to pay attention
- Balance
- Coordination
- Facial expressions
- Hearing
- Memory
- Response times
- Strength
- Vision
Who Is at High Risk for a Concussion
Every year, almost 4 million people in the U.S. endure a concussion. Out of these 4 million injuries, between 1.7 and 3 million cases are due to sports-related injuries.
Athletes are among the most at-risk groups for concussions, along with children under four and the elderly.
Young children are still learning many physical skills and can be a lot more clumsy than older kids. Many young children also still need to be carried or held to move.
These factors make children under the age of 4 more likely to experience a concussion.
Older adults may also rely on tools like a cane or walker to help them move around. If the tool breaks or becomes unreliable, that leaves a person at high risk for injury.
Other sources of injury are also likely to result in a concussion: concussions are one of the most common TBIs to endure after a car accident and can be uniquely common to groups like the military, contact sports athletes, and victims of abuse.
Students and Concussions
Behind motor vehicle crashes, sports are the second-leading cause of TBIs in people aged 15 to 24. A student who has experienced a concussion will need at least a few days off from school to prevent overstimulating and overwhelming the brain.
Straining the brain after even a mild concussion can make symptoms worse, especially for a child whose brain is still developing. Instead, bed rest and a stress-free environment will be the most proactive way to promote healing in the early stages of concussion recovery.
The general rule is that the student should not do anything that requires brain processes affected by their concussion; avoid cell phones, televisions, gaming sets, loud music, music through headphones, reading, or doing homework.
After a few days, the initial symptoms should start to wear down; piercing headaches will calm, feelings of clarity return, and the student will be able to pass a post-concussion neurocognitive test.
When this happens, it is crucial that the parent works with the child’s school to help them slowly transition back into normalcy.
At first, a margin of leniency can help the child feel less stressed coming back into an academic environment.
Giving a student extra time on homework, the ability to audio-record lectures, extra breaks in class, time to copy notes, and the ability to leave the classroom early in order to avoid crowded hallways are all small ways to help a student transition.
Support Through Concussion Recovery at Optimum Health Rehabilitation Center
A concussion can be difficult to endure and recover from, but help is out there. The recovery specialists at Optimum Health in Cumming are standing by to help you.
We will perform diagnostic tests that offer insight into your mental status, motor functions, sensory functions, coordination, and much more.
When you work with our rehabilitation facility, we’ll personalize an action plan that promotes rapid improvement in concussion recovery. Our staff is committed to providing aid for each patient that we see and is dedicated to their entire recovery process, from start to finish.
In addition to neurological testing, we provide comprehensive physical rehabilitation services, enabling patients to regain strength, balance, coordination, and full use of their motor functions.
To get in touch with a trusted team member and schedule a consultation to discuss your possible TBI, contact us online or call (770)887-9443.