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Month: February 2013
Big Decision Ahead? Let Your Subconscious Choose
Posted 26 February 2013 by prehab
Recent evidence points at the brain helping you make decisions subconsciously. Utilizing brain scans connected to test subjects learning about objects like cars and other items, and paired to their corresponding cortices, researchers found that parts of the brain responsible for decision-making and learning not involved in the above task—were recognized to be working as usual. Literately your brain can be working on your paper, choosing a car for you or practically making decisions on earlier given choices while you are either engage in unrelated activities or sleeping. Here is a great article Written by Brian Krans | Published on February 19, 2013 by Healthline News.
Brain injuries in youth may leave a long lasting trace
Posted 18 February 2013 by prehab
Younger children are more resilient! Or are they? As I read more and experience different recovery rates in youth, the notion that children are more resilient, or that they heal faster, may apply more to anatomical injuries of an orthopedic background. I see my own children healing in record time and young clients with sport related injuries that barely need rehabilitation post injury. But when it comes to brain injury, it appears as if it was the opposite. Keith Yeates, a neuropsychologist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and professor of pediatrics at the Ohio State University, says there are many reasons why children may be more susceptible to long-term effects after TBI or concussion.
“The pathophysiology of the injury tends to be a little bit different in kids because there are differences in the composition of the brain and there are differences in the size of children’s heads relative to the size of their body,” he says. “Their necks are less strong so they are subjected to different deceleration forces. And from a psychological perspective, young kids still have a lot to learn. They don’t have the stored knowledge and acquired skills like adults to fall back on.”
As emergency medicine evolves in the area of traumatic brain injury there is an opportunity to change the pathophysiology that takes place post injury. After head injury there is a storm of neurotransmitters that overwhelms, stresses, and challenges the developing brain. If it can be attenuated, all involved providers as a team, may see a better future of concussion treatment. In the meantime even with the limitations in imaging and evaluative methods, we may be looking at a possible “scaring” effect that may explain the traceable behavior changes and deficits that tend to reappear later on in some of our young patients. Let’s not rely on their resiliency when there are so many unknowns.
“Children who sustained a severe TBI at a younger age are more likely to have a range of deficits that include deficits in their thinking skills, deficits in their academic skills, and also social problems,” says Yeates in a recent study published in Rehabilitation Psychology. “They tend to have trouble making or keeping friends. And they’re at greater risk for certain types of emotional and behavioral problems.”
Mayer and colleagues examined the brains of 15 children who had recently experienced a concussion using DTI. They administered cognitive testing four months later and repeated the scanning. They found that structural changes in the children’s white matter remained months after the injury—even after cognitive and other symptoms had disappeared.
I continue in the quest for better understanding about the subtle changes these young athletes present after concussions. As I hope that imaging evolves at a faster pace, I realize how much more conservative I need to get. Designing and formulating rehabilitation strategies mostly concentrated on limitation of stressing mechanisms needs to be customized.
What is the biggest challenge to concussion management? Improving awareness about what the new evidence is showing to parents and members of the potential management team. They only realize they are part of the team when a youngster gets hurt but if information flows well before an injury, we may be looking at better odds. Pediatricians, neurologists, physical therapists, trainers, coaches, parents and their own teammates are that team. Let me underscore the value of their teammates. Their peer pressure can cause the athlete to prematurely return to sport or avoid reporting the injury altogether.
There is plenty of research funding now by the NFL, NCAA and other organizations to improve the efficacy of the rehabilitation process but until then rehabilitation professionals should lead the way before young athletes are further exposed to catastrophic injury. As a parent, I’m not taking any risks and that is how I see every case, and so should every one in their care. Click here to access the Dr. Yeates’ study published in Rehabilitation Psychology 2012
Pediatricians may be most appropriate for managing concussions
Posted 15 February 2013 by prehab
I have a problem calling concussions “minor”. There is nothing minor about a brain injury that can cost children their dreams, normal mental and or physical function, or in some cases can cost them their lives. Even though there is a ton of information now available about concussions, which I’m glad to finally see, I still have some serious concerns. There are few cases of what I call hyper-awareness and it can lead to chaos. Hyper-awareness and ignorance is causing some concussed young athletes unintended neglect as they pass from one expert to another. Instead of treating a concussion like a “hot potato” condition (“it’s not mine”), professionals who receive concussed athletes should treat it delicately and focus on allowing the patient to heal properly.
Fortunately, pediatricians are starting to catch up and get assistance with formulating customized resting for concussed patients. They do this by relying on neurocognitive and vestibular assessment, baseline assessment and educated parents and teachers. Then the pediatricians can take better charge.
Rest is well understood now to allow a concussed brain its return to normal state of homeostasis. Rest attenuates the typical storm of neurotransmitters that overwhelms and inhibits the brain during a concussion. Treatment however does not happen at the doctors office and very rarely it requires medication. What allows the developing brain to heal is strict following of the customized resting formulated at the school and at home as I presented to Dr. Nguyen, Smoak, and Jennifer Baxley at Charlotte Pediatric Clinic-Steele Creek located in Charlotte, NC.
Provided that major or more catastrophic injury was cleared, immediately after the injury, and prevention from exposure to another injury while healing, concussion treatment and management should stay at the watchful eye of the pediatrician who, to begin with, knows their young patients best.
Concussions: The neurosurgeon’s role and the current scientific evidence and management strategies.
Posted 10 February 2013 by prehab
Neurosurgeons often manage patients with extracranial injuries that have concomitant concussions. In these cases, neurosurgeons are often the only “concussion experts” that patients encounter.
In recent decades, concussions have received unprecedented attention from the scientific community. The definition of the term has become more refined, and epidemiological data have revealed how remarkably common the injury is.
A neurosurgeon’s intimate knowledge of various head injuries from similar mechanisms gives a distinct advantage in the ability to educate athletes about the possible consequences of their injury. In the past, involvement in concussion management has been less than that of trainers, sports medicine physicians, rehabilitation specialists or other primary care providers. This is mostly attributable to the limited supply of neurosurgeons and the mostly non-surgical pathology of concussions.
Neurosurgeons are limited in number but critical in their knowledge when complication arises. They can provide a solid foundation for those that do provide “frontline” care and be willing to provide assistance and insight whenever consulted. A few neurosurgeons however, have already taken the initiative and are getting more and more involved such as Dr. Tanvir Choudhri, MD or some one like Dr.Robert Cantu, MD who already leads on the frontline role of dealing with concussions. Read more about the role of Neurosurgeons in this, in-depth, study published by Surgical Neurology International.
Sports Concussions Detectable by Changes in Cerebral Blood flow.
Posted 9 February 2013 by prehab
Pediatric SRC (sports related concussions) is primarily a physiologic injury, affecting CBF significantly without evidence of measurable structural, metabolic neuronal or axonal injury.
In a recent study investigating changes in intracranial blood concluded that blood flow decreased post injury and improvements toward control values occurred in only 27% of the participants at 14 days and 64% at .30 days after SRC. The significance of this finding may help healthcare providers closer to finding more accurate testing methods for concussions, quantifiable information to detect severity, speed of recovery and safety. Something Harvard may want to get the hands into with the recent 100Mil NFL donation for their research purposes. See full Study. GE is also working on devices that may assist on improving imaging that may be sensitive to concussions.