September 5, 2017 | Brain Injury Diagnosis & Treatment, Diagnostics, Mental Health Services, Pharmacology, Post-Concussion Syndrome, Rehabilitation Therapies

The Post-Concussion Syndrome

Physiatrist Dr. Mel Glenn discusses the evaluation of the many symptoms that are part of a chronic condition called post-concussion syndrome or disorder that occurs in some patients after a concussion. He offers advice on the treatment of headaches, sleep disturbances, and other conditions.

About Mel Glenn, MD

Mel Glenn, MD, has been a leader in physical medicine and rehabilitation and brain injury medicine for many decades. He has trained many physicians at all three Boston medical schools during his medical career. Dr. Glenn joined the medical staff of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in 1998, and is an Associate Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Harvard. He is the former Project Director of the Spaulding/Partners Traumatic Brain Injury Model System. He has been the Medical Director of Brain Injury Services in Massachusetts for NeuroRestorative, which operates post-acute residential programs for people with brain injuries, since 1991, and the Medical Director of Community Rehab Care, a community-based outpatient rehabilitation and support services program for adults and children with disabilities since 1996. Prior to 1998, Dr. Glenn served as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine. Early in his career, while on the faculty of Tufts University School of Medicine, Dr. Glenn was the Director of the Brain Injury Program at Greenery Rehabilitation Center. Dr. Glenn has published more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, and delivered hundreds of presentations on topics related to brain injury medicine. Dr. Glenn was editor of the “Update on Pharmacology” column of Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation from its inception in 1985 until 2013, and is now Editor Emeritus.

Doctor looking at x-ray photo with patient in background

Treatment and Prognosis after a Concussion

December 27, 2022

Brain Injury Diagnosis & Treatment, Mental Health Services, Pharmacology, Post-Concussion Syndrome, Rehabilitation Therapies, Risks & Prevention

Learn about treatments for post-concussion symptoms—including medication, various rehabilitation therapies, neuropsychology, and potentially some complementary therapies—as well as factors related to longer concussion recovery times.

Young businessman with neck pain at work

Why is “Post-Concussion Syndrome” Controversial?

September 29, 2022

Brain Injury Diagnosis & Treatment, Diagnostics, Mental Health Services, Post-Concussion Syndrome

We do not yet have a clear understanding of what happens in the brain immediately after a concussion and over the days and months that follow, especially for those patients whose symptoms persist. Post-concussion symptom rates vary greatly among research studies, likely because the populations studied are diverse and so are the diagnostic criteria and timing of assessments. The wide variation in symptom rates highlights the fact that there is a lot we still don’t know about concussions.

Chiropractor checking neck injury of patient

Is Concussion a Diagnosis?

August 26, 2022

Brain Injury Diagnosis & Treatment, Diagnostics, Mental Health Services, Post-Concussion Syndrome

Clinicians like me say that concussion requires a clinical diagnosis based on the history of what happened to produce the symptoms. However, because these same symptoms appear in other conditions, and we don’t have reliable biomarkers, diagnosing a concussion can sometimes be a challenge. The lingering effects of a mild brain injury can also continue as a chronic condition, often referred to as post-concussion syndrome or persistent post-concussion symptoms, that still require treatment.

Brain Injury Diagnosis & Treatment Diagnostics Mental Health Services Pharmacology Post-Concussion Syndrome Rehabilitation Therapies