What do Football, Basketball, Cheerleading, Soccer, and Quidditch have in common? Concussions. Concussions very well may be the most talked-about sports-related injury right now. With a focus on prevention, you cannot lose sight of the fact that when concussions occur, they are still going to require treatment. And while there have been several steps forward in concussion prevention, until recently there was little advancement in acute concussion treatment. But Physical Therapy may be exactly what an athlete needs following an acute concussion.
Following a sport-related concussion, up to 30% of children remain symptomatic after 1 month. This can be a huge setback for you, or your child, socially and academically (concussions often leave you isolated while you recover from your symptoms, and you can tolerate social interactions).
Adults are going to feel the effects in their personal lives as well. You may have trouble concentrating at work, bright lights may prevent you from being social with family and friends, and rest (the old recommendation) may prevent you from reaching your physical health goals.
What is Being Done for Concussions?
To improve the old recommendation of just waiting out concussion symptoms and trying to speed recovery to help kids get back to their lives, researchers are considering whether resting after a concussion is still the best we can do. Recently they compared progressive sub symptoms threshold aerobic exercise and stretching as possible treatments. While the stretching more closely mirrored the old advice to wait out the symptoms, the progressive sub symptoms threshold aerobic exercise was an effort to improve symptoms, quickly.
What does that mean?
Aerobic exercise, when monitored, is reducing the impact of concussion symptoms.
Teenage participants walked, ran, or rode stationary bikes. The key was maintaining a heart rate below the rate when symptoms started during evaluation (80% to be specific). They exercised without getting to the point that their symptoms worsened. That aerobic blood flow has been shown to have a variety of positive effects including neuroplasticity, cardiovascular health, and improved mood, which is especially important to combat the social impact of concussions.
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How Do We Improve My Concussion?
The exercise group had an almost 25% faster recovery and there were fewer teenagers with delayed recovery. So, the best advice right now is to engage in exercise at a level that does not make symptoms worse. But you have to get diagnosed quickly and need to be under the supervision of a trained healthcare provider. It is best to start this exercise regimen while you are still in the acute phase of your recovery (all athletes in the study sought treatment within 10 days), beyond that we don’t know how much of an effect the exercise might have on your symptom improvement. It’s just not worth delaying getting the help you need when you suspect you might have a concussion.
Whether it’s football, basketball, soccer, or something else, as Oklahomans we love our sports. But sports, like other aspects of our lives, are not without risk. And one of the biggest risks associated with sport is Traumatic Brain Injury (or TBI).
As we become increasingly aware of sport-related TBI, most notably concussions, we continue to improve our knowledge of prevention. But TBI and concussions continue to occur, so we also need to be prepared for the treatment of sport-related TBI.
Treatment for Concussion and Sport-Related TBI
Whether you took a header a little too hard during a pick-up soccer game. Or you’re an Oklahoma football player who took a hard tackle. Or you’re an Oklahoma City Thunder player who got knocked out, you’re in luck.
Oklahoma City has physical therapists trained in balance and vestibular rehabilitation, who are ready to treat the signs and symptoms of Sport-Related TBI and concussions.
When it comes to Physical Therapy in the treatment of concussions (and other sport-related TBI), our Oklahoma City-based FYZICAL is prepared to treat a variety of concerns and issues both, directly and indirectly, related to concussions.
Namely, the Physical Therapists at FYZICAL Oklahoma City treat the physical and sensory symptoms associated with concussions.
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What Treatment is there for Concussions?
It used to be, that we recommended rest and waiting out concussion symptoms. But recent research has focused on improving recovery time to help kids get back to their lives.
Leddy and colleagues compared two possible treatments to speed up recovery.2Stretching closely mirrored the old advice to wait out the symptoms, and while there wasn’t any real improvement, there weren’t any negative effects of stretching.
The other treatment was progressive sub symptoms threshold aerobic exercise. In this condition, the patients underwent gradually increased effort during aerobic activities (ex. walked, ran, or rode a stationary bike) with their heartrate at 80% of the level at which symptoms were made worse during evaluation. This allowed them to engage in exercise but stopped them from evoking their symptoms. That aerobic blood flow has been shown to have a variety of positive effects including neuroplasticity, cardiovascular health, and improved mood, which is especially important to combat the social impact of concussions.
Isn’t it time you called your Oklahoma City Physical Therapists to see what FYZICAL can do for you? CALL FYZICAL
Who Treats Concussions in Oklahoma?
You might be asking “Who is going to watch me do progressive sub symptoms threshold aerobic exercise?” And that is a fair question.
You have a resource right here in Oklahoma City that can help reduce your recovery time from a concussion. Our physical therapists at FYZICAL Oklahoma City are trained to treat all manner of vestibular dysfunction and orthopedic injury, which means they are experts in treating sport-related TBI and concussions. You can get the help you need by working with us to develop a program of progressive sub symptoms threshold aerobic exercise that may include vestibular rehabilitation exercises to improve your symptoms and get you back to loving life.
Beyond their expertise in concussion management, the Physical Therapists at FYZICAL Oklahoma City are experts in neck and back injuries. You might be asking why this matters?
Concussions are generally believed to occur following 60-160 Gs of force, while head and neck injuries commonly occur with as little as 4.5 Gs of force. Unfortunately, the stiff neck, pain, headaches, and dizziness can look very similar even though treatment may be very different. You will benefit by seeing one of our physical therapists because of their ability to assess your deficits and return you to play.
FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers of Oklahoma City provides vestibular rehabilitation and orthopedic physical therapy in Lakeside, The Village, Nichols Hills, and surrounding NW Oklahoma City. Our physical therapists are specially trained to treat all types of pain, movement disorders, and musculoskeletal dysfunction including vertigo and BPPV. Our practitioners take a patient-centered individualized approach that focuses on your health needs. If you are unsure about your dizziness, or you want to see the FYZICAL Difference for yourself, schedule a free consultation today.
Reference
Leddy, J. J., et al. (2019). Early subthreshold aerobic exercise for sport-related concussion: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Pediatrics, E1-E7.