Today most people are aware that concussions require immediate medical care. Parents, teachers, coaches and athletes are also generally aware that severe consequences can occur if a person suffers a second concussion prior to full recovery of an initial traumatic brain injury. Knowing how to manage and assess TBI is extremely important, and it is crucial to have the injured person checked out by a qualified medical care professional rather than take a ‘wait and see’ approach.
Much progress has been made in raising awareness about TBI. Still, there is more to concussions than many people realize, especially in regards to ongoing symptoms. It’s extremely important to know that if you’ve had a concussion and headache, irritability, difficulties with memory or concentration, dizziness or other symptoms continue, you need additional care. Long-term or lingering effects can make daily life much more difficult than it needs to be, and it may also put you at risk for accidents, stress, additional injuries, or extreme mood disturbances that prove dangerous to your well-being.
A functional neurologist who is experienced in providing care for TBI can likely help you overcome lingering symptoms. This is true regardless of how long you’ve experienced symptoms, or how severe they’ve become. With the right support, improvements are almost certainly possible, even if the injury occurred weeks, months or years ago.
To start, a functional neurologist will perform a very thorough assessment of your condition—one that includes tests which evaluate brain function and may even detect damage in the brain at the cellular level. Once the precise nature of the imbalances or dysfunctions resulting from TBI are known, safe, gentle and effective therapeutic support can help you begin to heal.
The focus in care provided by a functional neurologist isn’t immediate, short-term relief of symptoms. Medications are not used, and neither is anything else that aims for a ‘quick fix’ to what is in fact a chronic condition that requires a long-term solution. Instead, the goal is to support the brain’s ability to heal itself, so improvements in function and how you feel occur as a natural result of recovery. These improvements also tend to last.
Functional neurology has a strong record of success in helping individuals who are struggling with the lingering effects of concussion. A functional neurologist can also help ensure you recover as swiftly and fully as possible if you’ve recently suffered a traumatic brain injury and wish to avoid chronic symptoms. There are no side-effects or risks associated with the therapeutic support functional neurologists provide. If you’d like to try a different approach to TBI recovery, one that addresses the root cause of your symptoms, functional neurology is an excellent choice for care.