Recently, contact sports, such as football, are being placed in the spotlight for players risk of sustaining a concussion during play. #Physical therapy has become an integral part of the team of specialists able to contribute extensively to the treatment and healing from these types of injuries. Commonly the recommended treatment was rest until symptoms alleviated, but now doctors and therapists are challenging the idea that rest is the best treatment approach. The brain is the body’s most complex and least understood organ so there’s nothing cut-and-dried about concussion management.
Concussions typically result in the rapid onset of short-lived impairment of neurological function that may resolve quickly in days or weeks but can also linger for months, even years. Common symptoms of #concussions:
The Mayo Clinic defines concussion as “a complex disorder in which various symptoms, such as headaches and dizziness, can last for weeks and sometimes months after the injury that caused the concussion.” However, an estimated 80% to 90% of concussions resolve themselves within 7 to 10 days. Whether you have received this type of brain injury from a car accident, fall or sports injury, patients need to proceed with caution and knowledge. Physical Therapists are seeing more recognition for their value when working with a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals such as neurologists, orthopedics doctors, sports medicine doctors and optometrists.
The benefits of taking an active approach with a physical therapist appears to speed healing when administered in a careful manner. Physical therapists are movement experts and know, with well monitored exertion at the proper time of their recovery phase, patients can greatly benefit and speed up their recovery from concussion.
“There’s an ever-stronger evidence base to what we’re doing in the treatment arena,” says Anne Mucha, PT, DPT, coordinator of vestibular rehabilitation for the Sports Concussion Program and Centers for Rehab Services at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC)—a global leader in testing, treating, and researching sports-related concussion.
“Better and better data lends support to how PTs—as members of multidisciplinary, multifaceted health care teams—consider, manage, and create treatment pathways for concussion in optimal and efficacious ways,” says Mucha, a board-certified clinical specialist in neurologic physical therapy. “Some medical professionals still are of the opinion that there’s no way to treat concussion other than to rest the patient,” Mucha comments, “but there’s been rapid evolution of evidence to the contrary.”
According to The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, 4 of the 6 clinical trajectories for concussion cited in their interdisciplinary model for understanding the assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation of the condition—vestibular, cervical, ocular, and posttraumatic migraine—are squarely within physical therapists scope of practice. The remaining trajectories – cognitive/fatigue and anxiety/mood are directly correlated to the other 4.
American Physical Therapy Association. The Physical Therapist’s Role in the Management of the Person With Concussion. (HOD P06-12-12-10)
http://www.apta.org/uploadedFiles/APTAorg/About_Us/Policies/Practice/ManagementConcussion.pdf#search=%22concussion house position%22. Accessed December 12, 2016.
Concussions are a serious business, but they’re also highly treatable with the right guidance and patience. Call our office today to schedule an appointment with Jason Ferine Physical Therapy. We can evaluate your condition and prescribe a safe and sensible recovery plan for you!
2300 Westwood Blvd STE. 100,
Los Angeles , CA 90064
TELEPHONE: 424 365 2083
FAX: 310 943 3532
EMAIL: jfptoffice@gmail.com
jasonferinept@gmail.com