Brain Injury Awareness Month

What you need to know:

• A concussion is a mild form of a traumatic brain injury (TBI)
• Common symptoms of a brain injury can include, but not limited to:
• Headache
• Ringing in the ears
• Nausea/vomiting
• Fatigue or drowsiness
• Blurred vision
• Cognitive delays
• Brain fog
• Problems with speech
• Difficulty sleeping or sleeping more than usual

Length of Recovery:

In most cases, concussions and mild brain injuries recover within 7-10 days from the injury. During this healing phase, it is important to rest with slow return to activity. Healing can also look different in each case and will change with additional blows to the head.

If symptoms persist longer than a month, it is termed post-concussion syndrome. It is important to get proper care with skilled and trained providers to allow proper healing. Mild brain injuries do NOT show up on imaging (MRI or CT scan). If your scan comes back “normal” and you are still having symptoms, know you are not alone and that there is help and you don’t have to live with your symptoms!

Depending on your symptoms, you may need a brain injury care team that can correspond together to address this multifactorial injury. The care team may consist of providers in neurology, neuro-opthamlology, cognitive therapy, physical therapy, massage therapy, counseling, psychiatry, etc.

Apex has TWO certified brain injury specialists that are passionate about brains and proper healing processes. Therapies at Apex take a manual/hands on approach to treatment and care with a majority of most sessions consisting with a treatment called Craniosacral therapy (CST). CST focuses on the proper flow of the cerebral spinal fluid in the brain and down the spinal cord. With impact or head injuries, this flow can be slowed or sludgy which can impact brain function. CST trained therapists have the ability to feel this flow or rhythm and try to restore it to proper movement through very gentle and light touch. CST therapists are able to address overstimulation in the brain and spinal cord, which has been found beneficial to decrease symptoms after a brain injury.

Other areas that can be addressed at apex include; vestibular function (vertigo/dizziness), balance, abnormal walking (feelings of staggering/veering, being on a boat), eye movements, fatigue, headaches, nausea, motion sensitivity, and light/sound sensitivity.

We hope you enjoyed learning about your brain! If you feel like you want to get checked because of persistent symptoms, please call our office today or email at office@apexptwellness.com to set up a consult or chat with a therapist and we will take the first step with you to feeling better!