What to do after a Concussion
Immediately following a hit to the head it is important that you avoid re-injury. A recent study showed that athletes who played “just one more play” took 50% longer to recover. Initially you may feel extremely sensitive to light noise, and general activity. Do your best to reduce demands on your daily life–this includes physical, mental, social, and emotional demands.
Over the first 24-48 hours the most important thing to do is rest. Sleep as much as needed (as long as you can be easily awakened) and are sleeping during your normal sleep cycle (ie sleeping at night). The brain heals best during sleep.
Your gut helps to manage levels of inflammation so keeping your gut healthy is essential to reducing your brain inflammation which will keep symptoms from being exacerbated. Avoid excessive caffeine and alcohol. Drink lots of water. Aim to drink your body weight in ounces of water or enough so that your urine is clear. It is encouraged to add an electrolyte pack or two to your water throughout the day. It is crucial to avoid beverages that are high in sugar or contain artificial sugar. Excess sugar has been shown to impair memory and create further inflammation.
A diet high in protein, particularly in the first few days, has been shown to be beneficial. Proteins are building blocks for our cells. Avoiding “inflammatory” foods can help your body improve nutrient absorption to support healing and recovery.
Inflammatory foods to avoid: Fried foods, processed meats, alcohol, foods with high-fructose corn syrup, excess caffeine, trans-fats and saturated fats such as packaged cookies and margarine.
Focus on eating whole foods that aren’t processed and include lots of fruits and vegetables. Adding omega-3 to your diet has been found to be beneficial for brain and nervous system function and protection. These can be consumed by eating foods high in omega-3 including fish (particularly salmon), vegetable oils, nuts (especially walnuts), flax seeds, chia seeds, and leafy vegetables. A fish oil vitamin containing 2000-2500 mg DHA and EPA can also be taken.
Relaxation is also crucial during this time of healing. Mindful meditation is neuro-regenerative and has been shown to increase the amount of neuronal connectivity which helps with emotional regulation, improving sleep, decreasing fatigue, and reducing anxiety. There are many free apps and Youtube videos that can help guide you on this journey.
After 72 hours the recommendation is to gradual return to daily activities. If you are still symptomatic physical therapy can be extremely beneficial particularly in the first 2-5 days if you have neck pain or severe headaches. Take the Post Concussion Symptom Scale and If your symptoms are greater than a 5, you may want to consider PT to treat your symptoms. The sooner you can address your symptoms, the sooner they will resolve and the sooner you will feel like yourself again.
If you have post concussion symptoms please do not try to persevere or suffer through them. Please do not listen to anybody who tells you that that is how you are supposed to feel after hitting your head or that they can only be “managed” and not “treated”. You absolutely can get better by participating in an integrative concussion rehabilitation program and “waiting” for them to go away will only make them worse and result in longer treatment times.
The most effective way to treat concussion symptoms is to perform specific exercises that are designed to retrain your brain and body to function efficiently. Specifically there are 5 systems these exercises will retrain:
The Neck
The Visual System
The Vestibular System
The Autonomic Nervous System
The Cognitive System
Properly retraining each of these systems will help your brain and body to heal so that you can get back to being you and doing the things that you love to do.
To learn more about what is a concussion, concussion management strategies, and the specific physical therapy exercises you should be doing to heal your brain and body, visit The Concussion Solution: Master Program. This online program provides a systematic approach to help people recover from post concussion symptoms. You can also visit our clinic in Park City, Utah.
If you would like to learn more about treating your concussion symptoms, please call us: 203 822 2098 or email us at annie@happybrainpt.com
