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Brain Injury Diagnosis & Treatment

How are traumatic brain injuries diagnosed, and what treatment is recommended for concussions and other brain injuries?

X-ray of child and headache

How Long Will It Take for My Child to Recover from a Concussion?

Children can experience a range of symptoms after concussion. They require individualized treatments and strategies for returning to activities and to school. A physician with training and experience in treating concussions must provide early interventions and follow-up, regardless of how long recovery takes.

Pocket Guide Featured Image

Self-Reported Concussion Symptoms are Key to Evaluation & Diagnosis

To properly diagnose a concussion and devise a treatment plan requires a thorough physician evaluation, a symptom checklist or an interview, or both, followed by a comprehensive cognitive and physical examination. Download a pocket guide that helps patients prepare for being evaluated.

Child sitting in the corner of a room

Abuse: A Leading Cause of Brain Injury in Children

Child abuse is a top cause of brain injury-related emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and deaths among children of all ages. Diagnosis can be challenging in cases of pediatric abusive head trauma. Prevention strategies at the individual and community level can be effective and there are many available resources.

Pills and capsules

Opioids Cause Problems After a Brain Injury

Stories of opioid-related disability and death are in the news frequently because of a surge in the use of these substances over the past few decades. For people with a history of brain injury, including concussions, the risks of using opioids are higher than for those without this medical history. Learn about the benefits and dangers of these substances, some of which are not only legal but widely prescribed for acute and chronic pain.

disorders of consciousness

Coma and Other Disorders of Consciousness

What happens to the brain after a severe brain injury that renders a person unconscious or “comatose”? Learn the meaning of other terms that describe patients who have disorders of consciousness: the minimally conscious state, cognitive-motor dissociation, covert consciousness, and unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (vegetative state). Researchers are studying advanced technologies evaluating patients with disorders of consciousness, and there are new U.S. and European guidelines that are helping to standardize care and advance the field of brain injury.

Woman helps elderly woman who fell

Falls and Brain Injury in Older Adults

Traumatic brain injuries are very common in older adults who fall. They can result in hospitalization, death, or disability especially in this age group and those on certain medications. In this post, an elderly woman has a delayed hematoma from an injury that could have been deadly. Falls can be prevented and Dr. Sandel shares important information about risk factors and tips for prevention.

woman with PCS symptoms listed

What is Post-Concussion Syndrome?

I recently talked with journalist Nathaniel Parish Flannery who writes about cycling. He was writing an article about pro cyclist Ian Boswell. Boswell had a crash in 2019 that resulted in long-term concussion symptoms. Flannery found our conversation and my book, Shaken Brain, very helpful, and he tells Boswell’s story in…

person with headache and concussion symptoms by window, shielding eyes

Common Misconceptions about Concussion

Test your concussion knowledge by checking out these common misconceptions about concussion causes, diagnosis, treatment, and recovery.

The prevalence of brain injuries in sports and the military: The Illuminare Podcst

The Prevalence of Brain Injuries in Sports and the Military

In the second part of this series, Dr. Sandel continues with further discussion of concussion management. She then describes blast injuries that occur in the military. Who provides treatment for concussions and what kind of care is best?, What are the risks of a long-term problem after a concussion or…

The "Invisible Injury": Concussions and Other TBIs. The Illuminare Podcast.

The “Invisible Injury”: Concussions and other TBI’s

In the first part of this series, Dr. Sandel discusses mild brain injuries, especially sports-related concussions. What happens to the brain during a concussion and what are the symptoms? What is second impact syndrome? And are children more or less vulnerable than adults?

splotchy watercolor head/brain

Concussions/Mild TBIs: Early Intervention to Achieve the Best Outcomes

In this Paradigm webinar, Dr. Elizabeth Sandel leads a discussion of concussion management that is based on a systematic, biopsychosocial model. She is joined by a Paradigm colleague, neuropsychologist Dr. Deborah Benson, to explore the evaluation and treatment of the complex issues for people with chronic symptoms.

Brain Injury Talk Radio

Shaken Brain with Dr. Elizabeth Sandel on Recovery Now with Kim Justus

Dr. Sandel discusses brain injury medicine, a new subspecialty of medicine, and getting the best care after a concussion or more severe brain injury in the US. Kim Justus discusses her own history in regards to brain injury and her struggles to find care. She also discusses Dr. Sandel’s book, Shaken Brain, as a helpful resource for listeners.

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