As sports seasons are right around the corner and practices begin, there is an uptick in the number of patients who come in with injuries to their head with the concern of a possible concussion. We want to take this opportunity to let everyone know some of the most common symptoms as well as the dangers associated with head injuries. If you or one of your children have suffered an injury make sure to be on the lookout for headaches, visual disturbances, nausea, blackout, or tiredness. A regular misconception about concussions is that it takes a direct blow to the head in order to cause them, but they can be due to snapping of the head from one side to another such as in car accidents or getting tackled in a football game.
If you have any concerns about whether you or someone you know may have a concussion monitor them, and don’t allow them to drive. Concussions and brain injury can be very serious without having severe presentations as they can sometimes take time to develop. It only takes one of the above symptoms to signal the presence of a concussion so don’t wait to get scheduled so that we can take a look. We are specifically trained in how to evaluate concussions, and can determine if there is more to a headache than “feeling it” after a hard hit. Many times there are areas of the neck that aren’t moving and functioning correctly due to the forces that were applied to the neck during the initial injury. Most commonly, we find issues at C1 and C2 where the origination of the nerves that go to the vestibular system (balance and vertigo), and the muscles controlling eye movement. Correcting the problems in the neck can alleviate the symptoms of the concussion. If there is a concussion present, we will be able to direct you in making the best decisions for a speedy recovery as well as how to prevent further injury to the brain in the future! If you have any indications of a possible concussion or you see someone take a hard hit make sure that they come into AWC so that we can make sure they get the help that we need.
In Wellness,
Dr. Ryan
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