Concussion

On television, injuries that turn out to be “just a concussion” are often anti-climactic events that the audience is led to believe will be over in days, if not hours. In real life, however, these minor traumatic brain injuries — which usually stem from a fall, sports, a car accident or a direct blow to the head — can severely impact a person’s quality of life from several days to months.
Left untreated, concussions can even inhibit growth in young children, and bring on early dementia for older patients. Fortunately, the physiotherapy field is continually discovering new ways to help patients suffering from both short and long-term concussion complications.

Concussion symptoms include:

• Fatigue
• headaches
• brain fog
• Light sensitivity
• Noise sensitivity
• Difficulty concentrating
• Irritability and mood changes
• Loss of balance
• Frequent falls
• Dizziness
• Lowered blood pressure
• Anxiety and/ or depression

How physiotherapy can help

Your physiotherapist will check your:

*Neck

*Eyes (vestibulo-ocular-motor)

*Inner ear

*Balance

*Exercise tolerance

Concussion physiotherapy treatments may include:

*Soft tissue release, joint work and strengthening exercises for your neck

*Balance retraining

* Eye exercises

*Graded cardio-vascular exercise

*Education on sleep, mindfulness and meditation

* Planning & pacing

*Tips to increase screen time tolerance

*Useful apps

*If needed, your physiotherapist might refer to you an occupational therapist to help with return to work planning, a counsellor to help with anxiety/depression.