Post-Concussion Syndrome Treatment – An Effective Treatment Method
What is Post-Concussion Syndrome
Post-concussion syndrome is estimated to affect close to 50 percent of patients who suffer a minor or major head injury. Despite its high prevalence rate, post-concussion syndrome remains a poorly understood condition. While it’s not entirely clear why some individuals are more likely to develop post-concussion syndrome, upper cervical chiropractors believe that it could be related to underlying nerve damage and inflammation in the upper cervical spine. If you suffer from post-concussion syndrome, upper cervical chiropractic care could help alleviate or potentially even resolve your symptoms.
The vast majority of concussions are caused by head injuries, with a particularly high proportion occurring during contact sports and automobile accidents. In some cases, the immediate effects of a concussion often resolve on their own. In other cases, concussion symptoms may linger for months or years after the initial injury.
Post-Concussion Syndrome Symptoms
As a general rule, if you’re still experiencing the symptoms of concussion a month after suffering a concussion injury, there’s a good chance you might have post-concussion syndrome. To give you a better idea of what these symptoms feel like, we’ve listed seven of the most common clinical signs of post-concussion syndrome:
- Dizziness.
- Headaches.
- Fatigue.
- Insomnia.
- Blurry vision.
- Loss of memory.
- Inability to concentrate.
How The Upper Cervical Spine Affects Post-Concussion Syndrome
What is the role of the cervical spine in post concussion syndrome? When you experience an impact concussion, the sharp movement of the head can lead to vertebral misalignment in the upper cervical spine. Abnormalities in the upper cervical spine, particularly in the atlas vertebrae, can place pressure on the brainstem/spinal cord and produce regional musculoskeletal inflammation. If an upper cervical spinal injury is left untreated, the misalignment can disrupt activity in the central nervous system and impede brainstem responses. Depending on the severity of the upper cervical misalignment, these disruptions can be responsible for a wide range of post-concussion syndrome symptoms.
How Our Post-Concussion Syndrome Treatment Works
We are focused on removing interferences to normal body function to get to the root cause of post-concussion syndrome. We do not just treat the symptoms. Our goal is to allow the body to heal from the underlying cause of post-concussion syndrome and any related health problems.
In order to treat post-concussion syndrome, we must first identify whether there is a misalignment in the upper cervical spine. To locate a misalignment, we will perform a range of objective chiropractic tests. If a misalignment is detected, we take a Cone Beam Cat Scan (CBCT), which is less invasive than a X-Ray, to determine the precise angle and direction of the misaligned vertebra.
We are trained to avoid any adjustment techniques which involve pushing, twisting, or pulling on the neck. Instead, we will use gentle and precise correction techniques to manipulate and align the affected spinal area. The delivery of a precise and gentle correction restores the neck and spine to its normal position so that any interference can be removed and recovery from post-concussion syndrome can begin.
We provide chiropractic care for post concussion syndrome for patients in the Las Vegas and surrounding areas. This includes all of Clark County and neighboring states such as Utah, Arizona and California.
Post-Concussion Syndrome Case Study
Patient A, a 17-year-old male, presented to our office for a concussion suffered playing football one year ago. Patient A was diagnosed by a Neurologist with a grade 3 (severe) concussion. Some of his symptoms included memory loss, daily headaches, emotional mood swings, trouble sleeping, brain fog, anxiety, tics, and episodes of loss of consciousness (blackouts which would last for about 15 seconds).
At our office, we took a Cone Beam Cat Scan (CBCT) of Patient A’s upper neck. This advanced, newest form of technology, allows us to see the upper neck and cervical spine/foramen magnum junction with great detail and specification. The scanning portion of the (CBCT) is a short process with a lot less radiation than a standard CT Scan, and even less than a full set of cervical spine x-rays. After the analysis of Patient A’s CBCT Scan, he was found to have a double misalignment of the atlas vertebrae and a single misalignment of the axis vertebrae (See Figures 1 and 2). Patient A was adjusted a few minutes after these findings.
Case Study Treatment Results
Within about ten minutes of his initial adjustment, Patient A started feeling substantial improvement with many of his symptoms including his headaches, brain fog, memory and neck and back pain. To show the effects of our treatment method, an electroencephalogram (EEG or brain mapping), which is a test that detects electrical activity in your brain, was performed on Patient A the day before his initial adjustment. Green color indicates a normal alert brain. Red color indicates an excess of activity. Blue color indicates a lack of activity. The before and after results are shown in the EEG images below:
Figure 3 below shows the EEG scan before treatment which shows a lack of activity (blue color) and a mix of excess activity (red color) which indicated abnormal brain activity.
Figure 4 below shows a follow-up electroencephalogram (EEG) that was taken about ten days after Patient A’s initial adjustment with the results shown below. Post treatment, brain activity was all green which indicated that the brain activity returned to normal.
Case Study Conclusion
After our upper cervical treatment, Patient A showed a dramatic reduction in post-concussion syndrome symptoms and before and after EEG scans showed that Patient A’s brain activity went from abnormal to normal.