Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common, and alarming, health problem in the United States today. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 1.7 million people suffer from traumatic brain injury annually. About 75% of these cases are concussions or other forms of mild TBI. Understanding the causes and access to the best treatment leaves many patients with very a good prognosis and advances in fields such as Chiropractic Neurology are helping many patients improve where more traditional treatment programs have failed.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be mild, moderate or severe and occurs when a sudden trauma causes damage to the brain. This can happen in different ways such as one’s head suddenly hitting an object all the way up to an object piercing the skull and entering the brain. Symptoms vary with the degree of the trauma and anyone with signs of traumatic brain injury should seek medical help immediately. Symptoms of mild TBI can include headache, confusion, blurred vision, ringing in the ears, fatigue, mood changes and loss of consciousness. People suffering from moderate TBI may exhibit those symptoms as well as a headache that persists and worsens, vomiting, seizures, pupil dilation in one or both eyes, slurred speech and increased confusion and restlessness. Initial treatment for patients suffering from TBI might include X-ray or CT scans.
While recovery from a traumatic brain injury can be both unpredictable and arduous for the patient, treatment should begin with a strategic plan that encompasses all aspects of the patient’s condition as this is vital to the process of recovery. One such option is Chiropractic Neurology.
Chiropractic neurology is becoming more widely recognized as a specialty that is very useful in the treatment of TBI. Just ask Pittsburgh Penguin hockey player Sidney Crosby, who suffered a concussion that took him out of the game for several months. Sidney’s injury, which occurred during the Winter Classic on New Year’s Day 2011, left him knocked out on the ice with no visible injury, making it very difficult to know how bad his TBI really was. Working with Dr. Ted Carrick, and assisted by Dr. Marc Ellis and a team of other chiropractic neurologists and students, Sidney steadily improved and was able to rejoin his team for practice and three weeks later was cleared for contact. After nearly a year of suffering from symptoms that left him unable to drive his car or watch TV, a few weeks of intensive chiropractic neurology treatments afforded him the improvement needed to get back on the ice and to a career that he loves.
Chiropractic neurology seeks to rebuild the patient’s neurocognitive abilities to the state they were in before the traumatic brain injury occurred. This is done through a non-invasive, drug-free treatment program that identifies weaknesses and imbalances in the nervous system. The brain, like other muscles, responds to exercise and utilizing methods such as light, sound, joint manipulation and other techniques has the same effect as exercise. While each patient’s needs are different, the approach of chiropractic neurology is a perfect fit for many patient and the increasing success rate without the need for drugs and surgeries are making it a valuable and desired option for more and more people.
For a more complete list of possible symptoms of TBI, click here, and be sure to seek immediate medical help if you believe you or a loved one has experienced a traumatic brain injury.