Concussion

Have you or someone you love had a concussion?

Concussions can leave you with low energy, difficulties remembering even simple things, and feeling scattered.  Mood swings, such as feeling irritable or crying over the smallest thing may also happen after a concussion. 

Has your child hit their head or been knocked out while playing sports?  Have you experienced one too many falls or accidents, leaving you with chronic headaches and feeling foggy?

A doctor may tell you or your child to rest – but there seems to be little relief as the days pass..

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Have you experienced a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and are struggling to get back to “yourself” again?

You may have done everything that the doctors told you to do, but all the medication and therapy didn’t make the problems better.  You feel like something is missing…

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Diagnosis and recommendations for treatment…

We use neuropsychological testing to help people who have experienced concussions or traumatic brain injury (TBI) find the correct diagnosis for their symptoms. We can then offer recommendations for treatment to help you move forward.

Whether from sports, a car accident, a blast injury, a military-related injury, or some other form of accident, we can work with you to help you better understand what you are experiencing.

Through neuropsychological testing, we can often see what your previous level of function was and where you are now. We can help you by giving you recommendations and help you better know how to use your strengths to overcome those weaknesses.

Better yet, we can talk through what has happened and help you put the pieces back together.

Just as we can diagnose using neuropsychological testing, we use neurofeedback treatment to help with recovery. Neurofeedback Therapy often works for those who have experienced concussion or traumatic brain injury (TBI) to feel better, to get back to more of a “normal” place.

By doing a QEEG, we can better understand what areas of your brain are still struggling from your injury. We can then work to regulate your brain wave activity so that you do not experience the significance of the symptoms you are facing on a day-to-day basis.

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Why do I feel so strongly about the results we can help you achieve?

First-hand experience.

In May of 2018, I had a biking accident that caused me to sustain a concussion. While I had learned about concussion and TBI from my education, what I learned from my own concussion has helped me to understand TBI and concussion in a much different way.

I did not lose consciousness. I actually even felt okay the day that it happened. On that day, I did notice a small delay in the normal speed in which I did things and a headache but that was about it. I thought everything was just fine.

It was the next day that I noticed something was wrong. I couldn’t read more than half a page without falling asleep. When I tried to work on my computer, the screen was too bright, and I wasn’t able to do what I needed to.

Over the next days, weeks, and months, I had more symptoms appear. I became very forgetful, would get intense headaches very easily. I even tried to go to my normal exercise class but soon realized that I became dizzy when trying to twist around.

When my heart rate began to rise, I would get an intense headache. I was irritable and would cry very easily. I also struggled with depression. This was really surprising to me. I hadn’t heard about a concussion or TBI causing depression.

This became practical experience for me.

I found out that when you sustain a concussion, more slow brain wave activity is produced. This is because your brain is attempting to take all of the resources that you use on a daily basis and is trying to heal.

Additionally, I found out that the frontal lobe tends to go offline again to rally resources for healing. Your body and brain do everything they can to help you heal.

Increased slower brain wave frequencies contribute to depression, inattention, problems with executive function (organization, impulse control, working memory, emotion regulation, etc.). I felt like I had ADHD. The vision problems became worse as well.

I ended up going to a neuro-optometrist who explained that the reason why vision gets worse is that when you first have your concussion, you have an excess of visual resources that are able to help you along for a while.

When you hit a wall and things continue to decline, it is because your brain has not been able to continue to build those resources. You will notice visual problems more intensely.

I noticed that my eyes which were focused on trying to do something like read or write a report would all of a sudden drift apart – and I would have to relocate where they had been focused. I also had a much more difficult time writing reports which requires me to integrate a lot of information.

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Thankfully, I got help!

First, I went to a physical therapist who worked on my skull and brain. This helped me immensely with the severe headaches.

Then I went to the neuro-optometrist who did a thorough examination and diagnosed me with convergence insufficiency. I had to do vision therapy for 40 sessions. which helped with the vision problems I had been experiencing.

I also had to use a screen protector on my laptop, which cut out the blue light on my computer screen so I could work.

I also engaged in neurofeedback treatment. This helped me with the cognitive issues I was struggling with (inattention, memory problems, problems with finding words and mixing words up, and also the depression). I began to feel like myself again, which was such a huge relief.

Over a year later, I am now very thankful for that experience. It really helped me to identify people who have concussions and to understand what they have experienced. There is hope!

Let us help you!

If you or someone you love has experienced a concussion or TBI, neurofeedback can help!

You may have tried everything and lost hope. We can help you feel better.

Call us today at (719) 323-3094 for your free consultation. I am happy to talk with you about what we do.