Concussion...The Invisible Injury

Many patients come to us after a mild traumatic brain injury or concussion with a very wide array of symptoms. Some have difficulty with balance, dizziness, nausea, migraines, brain fog, fatigue, change in vision, inability to concentrate or perform simple tasks, change in personality, loss of taste/smell, irritability, and depression, just to name a few.  The problem is that the injury seems invisible to the patient and to those around them.  If you have a broken leg, lacerated arm, or torn ligament, the injury is obvious and a standard course of care is completed.  With a concussion however, we cannot see and quantify the injury, and since each injury affects a different part of the brain, a different course of care is needed.

This invisible problem leaves the patients and their caregivers frustrated.  Is the patient dramatizing the injury? Are they really that tired, or just being lazy?  When will they return to pre-injury status? Is this a psychological problem?  These questions only scratch the surface of the issues considered after a head injury.

Is there a solution to this invisible problem, if so, what does it look like?  Yes!  It's called Functional Neurology (FN).  With FN we are able to quantify the health of a patient's brain with evidence based and objective testing.  At Smith Family Chiropractic, we us balance testing with Computer Aided Postural Screening (CAPS) that allows us to measure a patient's balance and sway patterns.  Videonystagmography (VNG) allows us to capture and quantify a patient's eye movements with different stimuli.  And, Saccadometry measures rapid eye movements and relays them in real time.  With all of these measures, we are able to diagnose an injury, determine which part of the brain is not working, prescribe a treatment plan designed to target the injured area of the brain, and track progress. 

The goal with FN is to force the brain to heal itself by making it respond in its weak areas.  At Smith Family Chiropractic, it is our goal to help anyone who has sustained a brain injury uncover their invisible injury.  We hope to make the injury visible with our exam and findings, so that the repair and rehabilitation can begin!