What Is Cognitive Rehabilitation?
In the previous blog, I went into some depth about what kinds of cognitive impairments may be experienced after a brain injury, and specifically how those may affect veterans returning to life after the military and others. I wanted to create some context for today’s...
Cognitive Deficits In Veterans After Brain Injury
In my interview this month, I spoke with Dr. Anthony Chen, a VA neurologist and rehabilitation neuroscientist who helps veterans with brain injuries rehabilitate. He works at the Center for Integrated Brain Health and Wellness in Martinez, CA and is on the faculty of...
Exploring the emotional component of brain injury in veterans
For the past several months, I’ve conducted interviews with a number of medical professionals to get their perspective on concussion and TBI. This month I did something different. I spoke with a physician and a veteran at the VA in Martinez, CA. They gave their...
What it’s like to have brain trauma as a veteran
A lot of what I write on this blog is based on protocols, statistics, treatment methods, and research data around concussions and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). What I don’t get to write about as much are the first-hand, personal stories of people who have been...
TBI in Active Military and Veterans
This month I discussed brain injury in a military setting and the care that veterans receive afterwards with Dr. Hetal Lakhani, a physiatrist at the VA in Martinez, CA and medical director of the Polytrauma Program. I spoke to her along with a 38-year military...
Will My Child Experience Long-Term Consequences from A Concussion?
Your child has suffered a concussion. Their initial symptoms have gone away. But are they fully healed? Or should your family be prepared for long-term effects? I wish I could tell you that your child will recover fully and quickly, but unfortunately, it’s not so...
How Long Will It Take for My Child to Recover from a Concussion?
A concussion, or mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), occurs when a sudden force on the head or body causes the brain to move inside the skull, injuring it. Common causes of concussions in children are falls, motor vehicle accidents, being struck by or against...
Abuse: A Leading Cause of Brain Injury in Children
Abuse is the #1 cause of brain injury-related deaths among children 0-4. I start with that sobering fact because I want to drive home the point that there’s much more to discuss on the topic of children and brain injury than solely sports-related concussions. This...
Top Causes of Concussion and TBI in Children and Adolescents
When we think of “youth” and “concussion,” the first thing that likely comes to mind is a teenager engaging in a high-risk activity like football, soccer, or snowboarding. But that’s not a complete picture of brain injury among youth. There are millions of concussions...
Treatment and Prognosis for Post-Concussion Syndrome
People who have experienced a concussion, also called a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), may later develop post-concussion syndrome (PCS). While symptoms associated with the initial concussion tend to go away on their own after a few weeks, symptoms of PCS develop...
How Is Post-Concussion Syndrome Diagnosed?
Post-concussion syndrome (PCS) occurs in some people who have had a concussion and who develop symptoms like headache, stimuli sensitivity, poor memory and concentration, and sleep problems several weeks after the concussion occurred. These symptoms can persist for...
Why Post-Concussion Syndrome Is Controversial
This month the topic is post-concussion syndrome, which we looked at in the previous blog. It’s also the subject of my interview with Dr. Mel Glenn, a physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) physician and Director of Outpatient and Community Brain Injury...
Concussion: 50 Unanswered Questions, and Likely More
Yes, all but one of the 111 NFL brains had chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE. The post-mortem case study published in the July issue of JAMA (Mez, et.al.) raises a major question about the future of football. Most of the cases represent former professional...