Treating Concussions Successfully

When Pretty, 16-year-old, was brought to my clinic by her mother she was in a chronic concussion state. I was told that pretty started playing Hockey at 7 years of age and since then there has been some minor head collisions and 2-3 major ones. 2 years ago, she got hit bad on the head and started to complain of headaches. The parents took her to a chiropractor, which helped initially to reduce the headaches, but he never addressed the concussion. Pretty mentioned days in which she just wanted to take her head off; that how intense her headaches were.

Pretty was recommended by a patient I helped with concussions few years ago. 

I noted Pretty Health history and after careful repertorization of all her conditions and symptoms I planned a protocol that covered a remedy and lifestyle changes. I told Pretty that that are layers that need to be removed and it will take time. 

Pretty and I worked for 2-6 months on her layers and her recovery to normal health. She fully recovered in 6 months and we planned preventive measures for the future. 

It’s been 3 years now Pretty has been headache free and has been playing Hockey, which is something she loves.

In conclusion I have been successful in treating many cases of Concussion and have helped patient regain their normal life’s.

In recent years, more attention has been directed towards concussions; information has been collected and we know the following:

There are between an estimated 1.6 and 3.8 million sports-related concussions in the United States every year, leading The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to conclude that sports concussions in the United States have reached an epidemic level.

33% of all sports “concussions” happen at practice. 4 to 5 million “concussions” occur annually, with rising numbers among middle school athletes. 90% of most diagnosed “concussions” do not involve a loss of consciousness. An estimated 5.3 million Americans live with a traumatic brain injury-related disability (CDC)

According to the statistics collected by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Sports Medicine Concussion Program.

Of the 1.7 – 3 million sports – and recreation-related concussions each year, around 300,000 are football-related.

5 of 10 concussions go unreported or undetected.

2 in 10 high-school athletes who play contact sports — including soccer and lacrosse — will suffer a concussion this year.

Girls’ soccer sees the second-most concussions of all high school sports. Girls’ basketball sees the third most.

The UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program sees more than 17,000 patients each year:

30 percent are from outside the state of Pennsylvania.

About 70 percent are high school-aged.

With so many concussions taking place is sports, Youth Sports Programs are now requiring Athletic Trainer, Coaches, and Sports Officials to take an online certification course on concussions each year.

Sports are not the only way someone can have a concussion. Other common ways include fights, falls, playground injuries, car crashes, and bike accidents.

How Are Concussions are Diagnosed?

When taken to the doctor or emergency room, the doctor will begin with questions about how the injury happened and its symptoms. The doctor might then perform a “physical examination” to fully determine all the symptoms. In serious cases, the doctor may request an “MRI scan” or a “CT scan” of the brain to check for more serious brain injuries.

One test that can be used at the time of injury is the King-Devick test. It is the most recent concussion test, it was originally developed in the 1970s as “a way to detect dyslexia”. A new study out of New York University’s Langone Concussion Center and “published in the Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology” has found convincing evidence that it can also detect when athletes of all ages suffer a concussion and that it can do so, even better than other commonly used tests.

The “King-Devick test” is a 2 – minute test for evaluating concussion within minutes of the injury. This test only requires a stopwatch (i.e. smartphone) and a few printed-out pieces of paper, and it can be administered by someone with no professional medical experience. Any student athlete suspected having a head injury during practice or during a game, are tested right on the sidelines to determine if the student should return to play. The test requires the athlete to read a series of numbers from left to right off of three different pieces of paper as fast as they can, while someone else times them for each one. Those times are then tallied together and compared to the time it took the athlete to complete the test earlier in the season.

For more information on King-Devick Test: https://kingdevicktest.com/

Symptoms of a concussion

Concussion or Traumatic Brain Injury can alter the way the brain functions. The effects may be temporary and include what are considered as milder symptoms such as short attention span, slowed thinking, reduced ability to learn and process information, headaches, fatigue, sleep disturbances, impatience, frustration, confusion, poor judgement, depression, mood swings, blurred vision and vomiting. There is often a loss of consciousness when the trauma occurs but it is not always the case, and therefore a person is often not aware they have had a concussion. When there is a severe head injury, there is a greater risk to the brain and the symptoms can also include unconsciousness, fits or seizures, difficulty speaking or staying awake, vomiting, blood or clear fluid coming from the ears or nose, memory loss, swelling and bruising around the eyes or behind the ears, difficulty walking and possibly death.

We now know that previous head injuries can seriously aggravate a current head injury and this is something that professional athletes and active people are aware of. However, as was Tom's case, there is no recognized medical treatment for concussion other than rest, medications for headache, and ongoing observation that the patient's condition does not get worse, or in the most extreme case a surgical procedure may be suggested. What people don't always know is that homeopathy has many remedies for concussion and trauma to the brain.

When to get help 

Getting a bump on the head, particu-larly in children, is very common and it is often difficult to know whether it is serious or not. You should get medical help if you notice any of the following:

any symptom that is getting worse, such as headaches, nausea or drowsiness;

difficulty waking someone from sleep;

unusual behavior, particularly irritability and confusion;

not knowing one’s name or where one is;

pupils of different sizes or pupil that are dilated (bigger than normal);

difficulties speaking or walking;

drainage of bloody or clear fluids from nose or ears;

vomiting more than two or three times;

seizures;

weakness or numbness in the arms or legs.

Recovery 

Many patients after mild head injuries will describe a number of symptoms which are collectively known as post-concussional syndrome. The symptoms are irritability, depression, anxiety, as well as headaches, dizziness, tiredness, poor con-centration and difficulty sleeping. 

In most people, these symptoms will go away without any help. However, the intensity and length of time before the symptoms resolve varies in different people. It is those sensations and symp-toms which make one person distinct from another that are most important in selecting the correct homeopathic medicine.

Long-term difficulties 

Although most symptoms resolve within a few months of a head injury, a signif-icant number of people are left with long-term problems afterwards. Improve-ments in the emergency care of people with head injuries means more people surviving, sometimes with permanent and often serious emotional or neuro-logical problems. The severity of long-term symptoms is related to a number of factors, including which part of the brain was damaged, how extensive the damage was and for how long after the injury the person had memory loss. 

People with problems resulting from a head injury will sometimes be referred to psychologists, psychiatrists, neu-rologists, neurosurgeons, physiothera-pists, and occupational or speech thera-pists. Most of these patients will also benefit from a referral to a homeopathic physician.

Intellectual impairment 

Problems with “thinking” activities may persist after head injuries. These include:

taking longer to process information;

difficulties focusing attention and being easily distracted;

forgetfulness and other memory problems;

difficulties following instructions,

organizing and planning.

These may be so severe that such people may be severely learning disabled and unable to take care of themselves.

Emotional and personality changes 

Less obvious and often more disabling than the intellectual impairment are the long-term personality and emotional changes after head injuries. Emotional changes include depression, euphoria, fearfulness, anxiety and an increased risk of suicide. Emotional problems may sometimes benefit from allopathic anti-depressant medication. 

Personality changes, especially when the frontal lobe (the part of the brain behind the forehead) is damaged, include apathy, obsessiveness, irritability, loss of motivation and spontaneity and even aggressive behavior. Impulsivity and disinhibition, including sexually in-appropriate behavior, can also be a problem. Personality problems are extremely difficult and frustrating to treat with allopathic medication alone and homeopathy can help a great deal.

Physical problems 

Mild long-term physical problems are fatigue and generally doing things more slowly. Some people have serious phys-ical disabilities of all types, from blind-ness to an inability to walk. 

Epilepsy is another common conse-quence of severe head injuries, and many will need long-term epileptic drugs. Unfortunately, despite the best allopathic epileptic drugs, some people still have frequent seizures or disturbing side-effects. Such people will often benefit quite dramatically from the addition of carefully selected homeopathic medication.

Prevention 

The best way to protect yourself and your family from head injuries is to pre-vent them from happening in the first place. 

Wear a seatbelt and ensure that young children are in a child safety seat or booster. Never drive or undertake any other higher risk activities under the influence of alcohol. Wear a helmet and ensure that children wear helmets when cycling, playing contact sports, skating, riding a horse, skiing or snowboarding. 

Minimize hazards in your home by removing tripping hazards such as elec-trical cords and rugs and fitting window guards to prevent children falling out of open windows. 

How we know we can use homeopathy

In 2009, an article was published in the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation on a study of the homeopathic treatment for mild traumatic brain injury. The study showed a significant improvement in those taking remedies over the control group not receiving homeopathy. They saw improvement in their ability to understand technical or work-related information, follow instructions, read newspapers or novels, do housework, and socialize in small or large groups. Some of these participants who were unable to work for years returned to work. The past 200 years of clinical cases of brain injury cases also support that homeopathy can help recovery and healing of mild and serious concussion and post-concussion syndromes. The fascinating fact is that homeopathy can be helpful in current situations but also in previous and long-standing symptoms due to head injury. What this means it that we can resolve the symptoms of a recent injury as well as resolving ongoing symptoms of previous injuries, and that means a future head injury might be less traumatic or life threatening for those at greater risk such as hockey players or avid mountain bikers.

It is important to remember the Three Branches of Western medicine making sure that standard medical care is sought out in the event of any kind of serious head injury. However, using homeopathic remedies as well can speed up the recovery and improve the outcome. As with any kind of trauma, the person can at first be in a state of shock. This state makes it difficult for them to think clearly and responsibly. They may under emphasis the severity of the injury and attempt to forego any medical treatment. This can have terrible consequences later on. Maybe they just have headaches and difficulty sleeping, but some people can undergo extreme changes to their mood and may develop depression and even suicidal thoughts which were never present before the injury.

There are several remedies depending on the situation that can be self-administered after a head trauma or given to the person who was injured.

Arnica: This is the go to remedy to take immediately or as soon as possible after any serious head injury. Arnica addresses the shock and also works to reduce, stop and even reverse damage from bleeding, swelling and the effects of blunt trauma. The effects are rapid and powerful and can reduce the severity of the trauma and future complications. In a severe case, it is ok to take a high potency 1M arnica in moderation. For the lower potencies it would be ok to redose more often at first to keep the bleeding and swelling in check depending on the severity of the injury. If the person says they are fine and they don't need any help, encourage them to take the arnica as a preventative measure.

Hypericum perforatum: This remedy is good to add when there is trauma of the nervous system after head, neck or spinal injuries. Symptoms following the trauma such as stiff neck, whiplash, pinched nerves, can all benefit from hypericum. Feelings of numbness, tingling, burning and neuralgic pains that shoot out suggest damage to the nerves and nervous system. Spasms and seizures can also indicate the use of this remedy.

Helleborus niger: After the injury the person seems very slow to respond to questions and slow in talking, and there is a noticeable delay in their cognitive function. They may have a blank facial expression and lack any range in emotional responses. They have trouble thinking, concentrating and remembering things. There may be chronic headaches and they appear slow, passive and seem to be depressed, indifferent and apathetic.

Natrum sulphuricum: This is a well-known remedy if the post-injury symptoms are long standing. It is also a good remedy when the person become depressed, has shifts in mood and personality, such as becoming more irritable and confused, and even thoughts of suicide. There may also be chronic headaches and new symptoms of asthma.

Belladonna: If there is a lot of heat, redness, throbbing, and fullness in the head after an injury. The may become delirious or frantic, and in this state may even bite or strike at those around them. 

Cicuta: If there are seizures after a head injury or if the head injury is severe and there seems to be mental retardation, consider this remedy.

The suggestions in this list are for self-care and first aid use. The remedies provided do not represent a complete list of available remedies but are trusted choices for the states described. Remember to take remedies only as they are needed, and that taking them as seldom as possible is the best approach. Usually a 30ch or lower potency number is best for this kind of self-administered remedy selection. If you find you are taking any remedy more and more often for the same reasons it might be time to consider a consultation with a homeopath to find the deeper causation and get you to a healthier state. It is of course ideal in the case of a severe concussion for the medical team to work closely with a professional homeopath for the best possible outcome.

Homeopathyand Concussions

Concussions left untreated can lead to other health problems later on in life.

Altered mental functions,

Epilepsy,

Chronic sinusitis,

Asthma,

Blood clot from a concussion can lead to a Stroke,

Suicidal tendency.

A Few Examples of Client Cases that Turned Out to be Concussion Cases:

Chronic Sinus Infection,

Allergies or Allergic to Chemicals,

Chronic Headaches/Migraines,

Depression,

Suicidal Tendencies,

Car Accident (minor and major),

Whiplash,

Tailbone Injuries (fell down on ice),

Blurred Vison/Eyesight Changes (from car accident),

Athlete Tripped on Sports Field,

Child Pushed by Sibling and head hit swing seat,

Epilepsy.

Other Suggestions to Speedup Recovery from a Concussion

Turmeric is a great superfood for brain trauma and strokes. Called Curcumin as a supplement. It regenerates the brain cells after a concussion, or stroke. Turmeric can be administered as an herbal tincture, pills, capsules. Fresh turmeric roots can be grinded up and made into a tea or sprinkled on food and veggies.

Doctors Commonly Suggest the Following to Help with Healing from a Concussion

For the first 24 hours or even a few months, depending on the severity of your injury.

Rest your brain

Rest in a darkened room, limit all stimuli; light, sound

To rest your brain, you need to reduce the demands you make of it. If you are reading, watching TV, checking e-mails or worrying you are not resting your brain.

In the early stages of recovery get plenty of sleep at night, and rest during the day.

Reduce physical and mental demands

Physical and mental demands can make your symptoms worse and slow your recovery.

Avoid activities that are physically demanding (e.g., heavy housecleaning, working-out, mowing the lawn, lifting and carrying heavy items).

Avoid activities that require a lot of concentration (e.g., reading, video games, studying, computer work).

Avoid activities that could lead to a second concussion (e.g. contact or recreational sports).

It is best to avoid jarring movements such as running, jumping on trampolines, even driving in the car which can make your symptoms worse.

More specific recommendations may come from your doctor based on your situation.

In 2015 the movie “Concussion” came out starring Will Smith on the real story of Dr. Bennet Omalu and his battle to raise awareness about the issue of brain damage in retired NFL players. You might want to check it out.