My Story (Full Version)
Physical Health
*Please note that this is not medical advice. Everything I write about are things I have learned and have come across in my journey in searching for answers to my own health problems. They are simply meant to be ideas to consider and to potentially look into. Please do your own research, take everything with a grain of salt, and always consult a qualified professional for help.
Understanding Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Mild TBI, and Post Concussion Syndrome
Sections:
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The Importance of Understanding Brain Injuries
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What Is A Brain Injury?
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Signs and Symptoms of Brain Injury
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Why Is Brain Injury Frequently Undiagnosed?
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How To Get Diagnosed
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Treatment Options
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Alternative Treatments
Books Recommended For The Article:
A Matter Of Health may earn a small commission on purchases made from our links, which helps keep the site running. Anything that is recommended is something I've tried, thoroughly researched, or highly recommended from readers- and has been shown to have real benefit and value. Thanks for your support!
The Brain's Way of Healing By Norman Doidge, MD
A great book on neuroplasticity, and the brain's ability to adapt and heal itself.
The Importance Of Understanding Brain Injuries
Brain injury is a topic that is greatly misunderstood and surrounded by many misconceptions, yet it is probably one of the most important things no one talks about. These misconceptions lead many to go on suffering with a brain injury they don't know they have. Whether you know it or not, there is a very good chance you or someone you know suffers from a brain injury.
Understanding brain injury is very important because of how common and widespread it is. Every 13 seconds, someone somewhere in the United States suffers from a brain injury, and it is estimated that 15% of the population suffers from a brain injury. which comes comes out to roughly 1 out of every 7 Americans. That means every 7th family member, friend, or person you pass on the street is potentially someone with a brain injury. As you can see, this number adds up very quickly. The scariest part is that most of these people often don't know they have a brain injury.
What Is A Brain Injury?
Brain injuries are medically known as Traumatic Brain Injury, or simply TBI. The name itself is perhaps what contributes the most to the confusion surrounding TBI. The term usually conjures up images of a brain hemorrhage from a horrible car accident or devastating brain damage resulting from a stroke. While these certainly are TBIs, they are on the severe end of the spectrum and only comprise a part of brain injuries as a whole.
Simply put, a TBI is a change in the way the brain functions following trauma, and this can be with or without apparent damage to the structure of the brain. In fact, a large percentage of TBIs actually occur with very little to no physical damage to the brain. Standard tests such as MRIs show a brain that is normal structurally, even though the way the brain functions may have been altered. Special testing is available for diagnosing less apparent brain injuries, though they aren’t commonly used.
These non obvious types of brain injuries are further categorized as Mild Traumatic Brain Injury or Post Concussion Syndrome, which fuels the misconceptions even more, since there is nothing mild about a Mild TBI. The symptoms and issues plaguing people with Mild TBI can often be severe and debilitating.
Another common misconception surrounding TBI is the amount of trauma or force to the head required to sustain a brain injury. It actually doesn’t take much force to suffer a brain injury. Seemingly minor impacts from accidents, sports injuries, falls, and even banging your head can be all that’s needed. The key to remember is that more important than the amount of force or impact to the head, is whether any functional, cognitive, and behavioral changes are felt after such an impact. Feeling confused or dazed following an impact to the head (with or without loss of consciousness) is a concussion and a possible brain injury.
For most people, the confusion and any other symptoms will generally subside and resolve on its own. However, If there is a persistence or worsening of these symptoms, then there may be a sustained brain injury, and getting evaluated for a potential brain injury is essential.
Signs and Symptoms of Brain Injury
The symptoms that survivors of Brain Injury vary greatly from person to person, and this is part of what makes TBI so difficult to spot and properly diagnose. The severity of symptoms also varies from patient to patient, and symptoms may also come and go, or change as time passes. Headaches might be present in the beginning, disappear after a while, only to reappear again sometime later. For some, symptoms may not arise or become noticeable until after some time passes, making the connection between the symptoms and the head injury less obvious.
While symptoms vary from person to person, they can include (but are not limited to):
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Headaches
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Dizziness
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Anxiety
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Depression, "ADD", or "ADHD"
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Fatigue
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Brain Fog/Difficulty Processing Things
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Memory Issues
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Vision Issues
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Sensory Overload- Sensitivity to light, sounds, smells, tastes, heat/cold, touch
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Behavioral Changes
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Mood Swings
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And More
TBI survivors can experience any combination of these symptoms, to varying degrees, and with different onset times for each symptom. Once again, feeling different after any trauma to the head with any of the symptoms above can indicate the presence of a brain injury.
Why Is Brain Injury Frequently Undiagnosed?
Less severe or “milder” brain Injuries are frequently missed by healthcare professionals simply because they are still relatively new in the medical community. When trying to identify whether a brain injury is present or not, most doctors and hospitals look for clear indications of damage or change to structures of the brain. If there is no obvious damage or observable to the structures of the brain, most doctors assume that there is no brain injury and quickly move on. Since a brain injury can be sustained even without observable changes to the brain, many "milder" cases of TBI often get overlooked.
Again, it is very important to point out that a brain injury potentially occurs with any external or internal trauma to the head- with or without loss of consciousness. If you feel any symptoms or experience issues after such an event, then you may very well have sustained a brain injury, and further testing and evaluation may be beneficial.
How To Get Diagnosed
Neuropsychology Evaluation
Unless there is a remarkable finding on a CT Scan or other imagery, most typical tests will probably miss cases of Mild TBI. If your tests come back normal, the best way to get a proper diagnosis is to see a neuropsychologist. A neuropsychologist can perform cognitive function and other tests to help determine if you do indeed have a brain injury.
Depending on regulations where you live and your medical insurance, you may be required to first get a referral from your primary care physician, so speak to your doctor if you feel like you may be living with a brain injury. One thing to note though- brain injury is still relatively new, so it is very possible for your doctor not to be receptive, and even dismissive of the idea, especially if your scans return "normal." If this happens, it is very important to have an honest and open conversation with your doctor. If all else fails, it would probably be wise to get a second and even third opinion from other doctors.
It is important to remain vigilant in finding a specialist who understands and can help you. I've met countless TBI survivors who were told their symptoms were psychological or anxiety from their accident or traumatic event they experienced, only to find out they were living with an undiagnosed brain injury. You must be your own best advocate.
Brain Injury Programs
Depending on where you live, you may also be able to apply for and enroll directly into a brain injury program if a hospital in your area offers them. If you are in the New York City area, Mount Sinai's Rehabilitation Center and NYU's Rusk Rehabilitation Center both offer brain injury programs and treatment, though there is usually a waitlist for both programs.
Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA)
The Brain Injury Association of America is also a very useful resource in helping you get the information you need and helping you find proper care. BIAA is an organization that provides resources, and connects you to a support system of other brain injury survivors. There are local chapters throughout the US, and connecting with other survivors can be an invaluable tool. They have already been through the process, and can tell you which doctors in your area are the best, what to avoid, and useful tips and information to save you time and hassle in getting diagnosed and getting care. I would highly recommend checking them out for more information. If you are in the NYC area, NYC has its own local chapter, which is a subset of the NYS Chapter.
Treatment Options
Once you have been properly diagnosed, there are a lot of treatment options available that your doctor will be able to discuss with you. Since the issues people experience vary tremendously from patient to patient, the treatment options best for you can vary as well.
In general however, some of the most common treatment options include:
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Physical therapy
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Physical rehabilitation
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Speech therapy
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Occupational therapy
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Vestibular rehabilitation
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Vision Therapy
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Use of prisms in glasses along with tinted glasses
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Medications to help with certain symptoms
In addition, there are certain therapies which can help you learn to live with and manage some of the difficulties you may be facing. There is also a huge mental health component to dealing with Brian Injuries, and getting access to psychological and psychiatric care can also be insurmountable to recovery.
Alternative Treatments
If traditional treatments aren't giving you the results you are looking for, or if you want to see if there are other treatments that might help, below are a couple of alternative therapies that might be worth looking into.
I was not experiencing any progress with any of the above treatments, and the following things I tried helped me tremendously. I have met others along the way who noticed improvements from these therapies as well. Please note that this is my personal experience, and is not meant to be medical advice. Please always consult a qualified professional.
Some alternative therapies that might be worth looking into:
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Chiropractic Care- This might be surprising to a lot of people, but chiropractic care can be extremely beneficial for brain injuries, and is one of the two things that really helped me on the road to recovery. Most people think of chiropractors as treating back pain and neck pain, which they do, but chiropractic goes much deeper than that.
There is an intimate relationship between the head and neck (and the rest of the body), and getting chiropractic adjustments can actually help with a lot of neurological issues. One thing to note is that not all chiropractors and not all chiropractic adjustments are the same, so what may help one person may not necessarily help you. To learn more about chiropractic, here's some more info.
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Cranial Release- This is performed by a small handful of Chiropractors, Naturopaths, and Physical Therapists. It involves inserting a tiny balloon into your nasal cavity and inflating it, adjusting your skull from the inside. It is based on the premise that doing so will release tension inside of your head, and allow cerebral spinal fluid to flow properly again.
It sounds weird and it took me almost a year before I was finally convinced to try it, but it has also been the single most powerful and helpful thing I've tried. It was the catalyst that helped me actually start seeing improvements. To read more about it, here's some info.
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Binocular Vision Dysfunction (BVD)- Binocular Vision Dysfunction is a condition where the eyes are misaligned either from birth, or as a result of trauma and injury to the head. The treatment is very simple and uses prisms incorporated into glasses to help the eyes see in an aligned state.
If you've tried prism glasses with no success, it's important to note that BVD treatment is very very different from the conventional use of prisms that you may experience in working with a conventional neuro optometrist or neuro ophthalmologist. Unlike conventional prism use, BVD glasses often use the smallest amount of prism possible, and slowly builds up to more prism over time, in a concept known as progressive relaxation. You can read more about it here.
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Functional Neurology- This is a type of treatment within Chiropractic that utilizes various techniques and tools to help the brain recover and overcome brain based issues. These techniques and tools are non invasive and non pharmaceutical, and can include brain based games and exercises, to therapies that stimulate brain activity. The goal is to help the brain relearn how to function as optimally as possible.
Although I have not tried this and have no personal experience with it, I have met quite a few people who have had great success with it. There may be some confusion when hearing the term Functional Neurology, so please note that Functional Neurologists are not Medical Doctors or Doctors of Osteopathy, but are Doctors of Chiropractic.
About Alan
I started Inspired Wellness to help others based on my experiences. I write about everything I've tried and learned in my search for answers to my headaches, dizziness, anxiety, digestion issues, and more for 14 years.
