What is a Concussion?

Did you know that most people do not even have a clue about concussions and how long one lasts. Did you that just resting after concussion is not good enough? Did you know that these head injuries are treatable with exercise.

Most people think you need to rest to take care of a concussion and then you can resume normal activity. This is how concussion were treated in the past. Now there is so much more awareness and treatment for concussions.

So what exactly is a concussion?

A concussion is stretch of a nerve cell in the brain in particular the axon that leads to a complex pathophysiologic process affecting the brain, induced by traumatic biomechanical forces secondary to direct or indirect forces to the head. This may be in the form of a direct blow to the head or a whiplash movement. The brain is now in an energy crisis! There is no structural damage .

What most people do not know is that the concussion itself last for approximately 10 days (Barkhoudarian,MD, Hovda, PhD, Giza, MD, clin sport Med 30 2011- (33-38). It takes this long for the nerve cell to return to its “normal” length ad function.

If you go back to contact activity before the nerve cell returns to normal shape and functions you risk the chance of permanent  damage. Think of it as stretching an elastic band. If you do not let it   return to its original shape and stretch it again it just may snap and break. This is no different for the nerve. Thus there should be no return to contact

After that ten day period if you or someone you know is suffering from on going symptoms then you need to know where those symptom are coming from. Mike can help you that!

Mike is a Shift Concussion Management Certified Provider? That is a good thing for you.

Contact Mike here if you are interested in baseline testing, assessment or treatment  for different options.