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...
What Is Post-Concussion Syndrome?
This month I sat down with Dr. Mel Glenn, a physiatrist in Boston who specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) and brain injury medicine, to talk about post-concussion syndrome. Dr. Glenn is the Director of Outpatient and Community Brain Injury...
The Use of Opioids in Treating TBI Pain
“Fire is a good servant but a bad master,” as the old saying goes. The same can be said for opioids, a class of drugs that are great at alleviating pain but, unfortunately, can take over people’s lives when they become addicted, or even cause death from an overdose. I...
Whiplash and Cervical Strain in TBI
My interview this month is with Dr. Steven Moskowitz of Paradigm Outcomes in California. As a physiatrist and Senior Medical Director at Paradigm, Dr. Moskowitz is an expert on acute and chronic pain management. In our interview, we discuss several aspects of pain...
Evaluating and Treating Headaches After Brain Injury
Headaches are extremely common in people who have concussions and more severe traumatic brain injuries. There are different types of headaches that can occur post-injury, as detailed in the previous blog. Knowing what type of headache you suffer from can make it...
Different Types of Headaches in Concussion and TBI
One of the hallmark symptoms in concussion or brain injury is headache. As many as 9 in 10 people who have sustained a head injury report headache as one of their primary symptoms. However, the topic isn’t as simple as it first appears. Some people with concussions or...
The Differences Between Imaging Studies Used to Diagnose Brain Injuries
What kind of imaging techniques are used in brain injuries? In the old days, the X-ray was the only way to get a look inside someone without surgery. These days, thanks to astonishing advances in technology, doctors have an array of imaging methods to use to see...
TBI and Depression
Traumatic Brain Injury and depression are frequently seen together. One study from 2004 found that about one third of patients with a TBI also experienced major depressive disorder during the first year following the TBI. Other statistics put that number higher,...
3 Healing Modalities to Try to Ease TBI Associated Symptoms
I talk a lot about the cognitive symptoms that people who are suffering from a traumatic brain injury, such as troubles with concentration, learning, and memory, but I don’t want to ignore the very real – and very common – physical symptoms, too. With that in...
What It’s Like to Have a TBI
This month I’m very excited to bring to you an interview I recently did with Seth Fischer, a fourth-year medical student at UC Davis, which you can watch here. Previously, I’ve interviewed Melita Moore, a college team physician, Dr. Richard Delmonico, a...
What Effect Does Concussion Have on Academic Performance?
As Brittany stared at the test lying on her school desk, the words and numbers began to jumble. She couldn’t understand it: She’d been studying for this test for weeks, and now here it was and she could barely read the paper before her. Stress, she thought was the...
How Parents Can Help Children and Teens Recover From Concussions and TBI
If your child has experienced a concussion from a youth sports injury, you surely want them to recover as quickly and as completely as possible. What can you do to make that happen? Michelle Camicia, a rehabilitation nurse leader and Director of Operations for Kaiser...
Be a Parent Advocate for Children and Youth Sports Concussions
One of the things I like most about the interview I recently did with Michelle Camicia is that Michelle comes at the topic of youth sports and concussion from the perspective of both a health care professional and as a mom with two active kids. As a rehabilitation...