A concussion is an injury to the brain due to a blow to the head or when a rapid acceleration causes your brain to strike the inside of your skull, such as in a car accident.  Most concussions will gradually resolve within a couple of weeks but some people experience symptoms for longer.  No two individuals respond the same.

Post-Concussion Syndrome is diagnosed when symptoms persist for weeks or months after the initial injury.  The common symptoms of a concussion include:

• Headache
• Dizziness
• Difficulty with balance and coordination
• Sensitivity to light and sound
• Memory problems and “fogginess”
• Difficulty concentrating
• Mood changes
• Fatigue

An Action Potential Physiotherapist with special training and experience working with post-concussion clients would complete an assessment and create a treatment plan tailored to you.  Treatments can be done in your home or in our clinic, which includes private treatment rooms to help minimize the impact of noise sensitivity or busy environments which you may find disturbing.

This assessment will include:

•  Assessing vision and vestibular system changes
• Balance and coordination testing
• Strength testing
• A neck assessment to determine if there are any injuries which could be impacting your headaches or dizziness
• Frequent reassessment to determine treatment progression

Our treatment intervention would depend on your unique complaints, limitations and your goals.

Treatment may include education on pacing your activities, return to physical activity with symptom monitoring, improving strength and endurance after the initial rest phase with monitoring to avoid worsening symptoms, visual/vestibular rehabilitation to decrease dizziness and improve balance, and appropriate hands-on manual therapy or exercises for headache relief.

Image references:

1.  Patrick J. Lynch; illustrator; C. Carl Jaffe; MD; cardiologist synpic46000.jpg TBI – Grading Traumatic Brain Injury