Will Smith’s recent film Concussion is likely to get people thinking about traumatic head injuries, and that’s a good thing. A hit to the head is different from a hit to another part of the body. Head injuries disrupt the fragile environment of the brain, and doctors are now recognizing how repeat impacts to the head can have serious, long term side effects.
In Concussion, a movie based on true events, Will Smith plays Dr. Bennet Omalu, a medical doctor who specializes in disorders of the brain and nervous system. Dr. Omalu discovered that football players were at a much higher risk of developing a condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is a disease that progressively degenerates the brain
Recently, I was down in Texas visiting my family. At that time things were ramping up to Super Bowl 2016 and I kept noticing the topic of concussions being discussed on TV. Should we change the way football is played? How many hit’s are safe? What’s happening to a player’s brain after so many hits? I was impressed that prime time news channels were covering this topic.
It’s not just professional football players that suffer concussions though. Athletes engaged in other sports such as soccer, hockey and lacrosse regularly suffer traumatic head injuries. And this is just in the world of sports. Think about the number of people who sustain head injuries due to falls, car accidents or some other unfortunate circumstance. Brain Injury Canada estimates that 160,000 people suffered traumatic brain injuries last year and that roughly 80,000 people acquired their brain injury from a fall or a motor vehicle accident.
What to do if you’ve suffered a severe head impact
- If you sustain a significant head injury while playing a sport, stop playing immediately. Continue to play, and you run the risk of a second impact to the head which can be really dangerous.
- Seek medical help after a significant blow to the head, even if it seems ‘not that bad.’ Doctors will be able to test your brain and nervous system and rule out any serious problems.
- Seek the help of a specialist trained in treating concussions and head injuries. Provided your doctor has assured you there are no serious complications with your head injury, you’ll likely be told to go home and rest. Alongside resting and reducing TV and computer time, you can also improve your recovery time from a head injury by seeing a Matrix Repatterning Practitioner. Matrix Repatterning is very effective at treating traumatic brain injuries, including concussions.
Doctors are getting behind Matrix Repatterning because it works
Matrix Repatterning is a hands on treatment approach that specializes in treating bone trauma. When we suffer a traumatic brain injury, such as a concussion, a certain amount of tension is stored in the skull bones. This ‘bone tension’ is created as the bones of the head and face absorb the force of the impact. Tension in the skull and face can lead to chronic headaches, sensitivity to light and noise, nausea, confusion, irritability and difficulty concentrating and remembering things. Using a unique assessment and treatment approach, Matrix Repatterning is able to pin point and remove the tension from the skull and face, drastically reducing a persons concussion symptoms.
To learn more about Matrix Repattering and to find out how it can help you click here.