How Physical Therapy can help you recover…
We think of concussions while watching an athletic competition when the game stops because a player’s been hit in the head. Thankfully, professional, collegiate, and organized sports now have concussion protocols in place designed to protect an athlete from further damage following a suspected concussion. But concussions don’t just affect athletes.
Anyone who suffers head trauma, an accident that leads to whiplash, a sudden and rapid movement of the head, work or playground falls and injuries, or assault where the head is shaken can be concussed. Every case is unique and should be checked out by a medical professional (such as a physical therapist!) to determine its severity. But in all cases, it is serious.
What are the symptoms of a concussion?
In the short term, concussions may cause headaches, dizziness, slurred speech, double vision, seizures, fatigue, and imbalance. Cognitively, they can cause confusion, mental fog and trouble with concentrating, short-term or long-term memory problems, and an inability to process thoughts and ideas. They can also cause anxiety, depression, mood swings, irritability, and aggression.
Long-term, concussions can cause chronic headaches and/or dizziness, fatigue, loss of libido and menstruation, weight gain, low blood pressure, muscle weakness and/or tightness, early dementia, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. For children, concussion symptoms can also include problems with growth. Some of these symptoms don’t completely go away — at least not quickly. Post-concussion syndrome — i.e., headaches and dizziness — may last for months following a trauma.
That’s following one concussion. What happens if you’re an athlete, don’t tell anyone you’re concussed, or the symptoms aren’t studied, then you get hit in the head again? Or if you suffer head trauma, think it’s nothing, don’t get treated, and get hit again? It’s not that you’re just injury-prone — you might have done some more serious damage than the initial concussion. Second-impact syndrome can cause permanent brain damage (learning, walking, brain or nerve disabilities) — or death.
How can a physical therapist help with a concussion?
If you’ve suffered head trauma, you most definitely need to go to an ER or urgent care. But beyond that, once you’ve been diagnosed, a physical therapist can evaluate you and determine the best course of care for improving your prognosis.
Physical therapists treat your mobility. A PT examines how you move, how well you move, is there a glitch in how you move, and whether normal movement causes you pain. How has your concussion affected your movement, coordination, strength, memory, and your five senses? Your therapist will track your progress to determine your ability to return to normal activity: work, school, sports, etc.
Treatment of a concussion
Rest and recover
Upon examination, your physical therapist may prescribe limiting all physical activity (or even mental activity involving electronics or concentration) until continued testing tells your therapist it’s safe for you to resume. Or at the very least, return to building you back up. Those limits help your brain heal and alleviate the immediate symptoms.
But not moving results in muscle atrophy, right? Maybe, or it may just be the thing that helps your muscles recover. Even athletes or exercise/high-intensity activity enthusiasts can experience problems while trying to resume normal activities. Following your prescribed rest, your therapist will determine the right course of action, one that focuses on improved muscle endurance, strength and, later, power. Just like no concussion or recovery is the same, your therapist will tailor your treatment according to your space.
Once those immediate symptoms ease, a physical therapist will keep you from overdoing your recovery. Taking things too fast without giving your brain, body, and nervous system a chance to heal, may make the symptoms return. Physical therapists want you to resume your normal daily routines, but they want you to do it safely. A therapist isn’t looking for immediate, but temporary, gains. They want to make those improvements permanent.
Keep your head up
Vestibular Physical Therapy, the treatment of the inner ear and how your brain connects to it, can help in post-concussion recovery. Common concussion symptoms can include dizziness, vertigo, and an inability to balance your body. Your therapist will perform tests, gauging your ability to focus on an object and your ability to balance, to determine if this therapy is right for you.
Headaches are another common concussion symptom. Obviously, managing the discomfort with pain relievers (but not those that increase your chances of bleeding) is a remedy, but a physical therapist can help without having to use medicine. Your therapist may treat you with manual therapy, dry needling, eye exercises, and cervical (neck) strengthening.
Can I trust a Physical Therapist?
You can’t just call yourself a physical therapist and be one. The entry-level degree for physical therapists (PTs) is now a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree, and all PTs are required to complete continuing education hours each year to stay current. Board-certified physical therapists, and therapists who completed residencies, can treat a variety of injuries, including concussions. But just as in trusting your doctor, trust is a result of one-on-one interaction.
Special thanks to Ed Delagarza
