- 8-25 Industrial Drive Elmira, Ontario, Canada, N3B 3K3
- info@woolwichphysio.ca
- 519-669-2578
Concussion Rehabilitation
A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury that may occur from a direct blow to the head, neck, or body resulting in an impulsive force being transmitted to the brain. This force can cause a stretching/shearing of neurons in the brain, which initiates a neurotransmitter and metabolic cascade, altering blood flow to the brain and depleting energy stores.
Signs and symptoms of a concussion vary largely between people and may present immediately, or evolve over minutes, hours, or days. A loss of consciousness is not required for a concussion to occur and greater than 90% of concussions do not experience a loss of consciousness. Symptoms commonly resolve within days and reflect a functional disturbance rather than a structural injury to the brain, as such, no structural abnormality is seen on standard neuroimaging such as an MRI.
Concussions may impact a variety of different systems in the body,, ultimately leading to the symptoms that you feel. It is important that you have early access to a trained healthcare practitioner who can help determine what systems may be affected and consequently guide you through your rehab.
At Woolwich Physiotherapy, our physiotherapists will look at a number of different body systems to help determine how to best manage your concussion. These may include looking at your:
- Balance and gait
- Vestibular system
- Ocular-motor function
- Physical activity and exercise tolerance
- Cervical spine range of motion, proprioception, strength, and muscle tension
Determining what systems are affected is our top priority as this will allow you and your physiotherapist to develop an individualized rehab plan to get you back feeling your best. There are no "cookie cutter" rehab protocols for concussion as the systems affected and available treatments vary between people.
Based on current research recommendations, our physiotherapist will use a variety of different treatment techniques including:
- Early symptom-limited physical activity for acute concussions
- Cervical spine manual therapy and soft tissue release
- Balance and vestibular exercise
- Oculo-motor exercises
- Cervical strength and proprioception exercises
- Education on return to learn/sport/work protocols and guidance on how to progress through each stage of recovery
- Late stage strength, plyometric, and agility exercises
Whether you sustained a concussion in sports, at work, or in a motor vehicle accident, it is important that you don’t wait and hope your symptoms just go away, let us help guide you through the most appropriate rehab plan and prevent your symptoms from lasting longer than they need to. Let's get you active early and back to living your best life, symptom free.