Concussions: The Misunderstood Injury

In recent headlines, many professional football players have come out saying that the number of concussions throughout their careers have affected their daily lives tremendously. Can you imagine the impact that will have on someone whose brain is not fully developed? In a recent article from the American Chiropractic Association, existing data states that more than 1.5 million people experience a traumatic brain injury each year in the United States.

Many of these cases are going unreported due to being perceived as unimportant because there is no blood or other obvious clinical signs visible.

Concussions and other traumatic brain injuries usually will include signs such as headache, dizziness, irritability, fatigue, poor concentration, sensitivity to light or noise, tearfulness, nausea/vomiting, and dysfunction of memory (amnesia) in older children and adults.

Concussions may be caused by a direct blow to the head, face, neck, or elsewhere on the body with an “impulsive” force transmitted to the head.

High school students are the most vulnerable to concussions as compared to older athletes due to the younger brain being more vulnerable to any disruption of function. It is important to have middle and high school students perform a baseline concussion test before the start of their season so that if a concussion does occur it is easier to see where they should be thus helping with return to play decisions. This test will usually take about 20 minutes to perform. Most students do not understand or know the symptoms of concussions so they may not report what they are feeling. Concussion testing should occur after the impact, 15 minutes later, and the next day. In some studies there were no reports of symptoms fifteen minutes after impact but performance remained impaired at 10 days post-concussion.

Chiropractic care is well known to help people that are suffering from concussion symptoms. When the head and neck are impacted it will misalign the bone putting pressure on the nerves thus reducing its ability to communicate with the rest of the body.

Chiropractic adjustments will remove the pressure on the nerve so that it can heal from the inside out. When the body does not have interference it will heal properly. Each concussion varies with the amount of time it take to heal.

We have helped young children, teens and adults with concussions from car accidents, soccer, hockey, football, dance, and just playing in the yard. It can happen almost anywhere! If you or someone you know suffers from a concussion, please call us as soon as you can. We are happy to perform a nerve system scan and adjust as soon as possible to help you heal as soon as possible!