Just asking about concussions . . .

We asked Pat Marques, Director of Rehabilitative Exercise and Performance Training for HPR, some questions that many of our clients ask about concussions  . . .

Tell me why I need a concussion baseline test – I’ve never had a concussion and I don’t see the point in spending time and money to figure out what I already know.

3 reasons:

• A baseline establishes what your “normal” is prior to athletic participation, which allows us to measure IF a concussion has happened were you to experience a head injury
• Without a baseline to measure against, if you receive a concussion, you will not be able to know the SEVERITY of the concussion, or exactly which brain functions were injured.
• A baseline screening can also show if you HAVE had a concussion in the past (even though you never knew it or thought you did), and indicate if you are a greater risk of concussion due to pre-existing factors (i.e.- medications, previous injuries, etc.)

I’ve had a number of concussions and I really want to get better, but I don’t see much hope in my situation.  What can you do to help me?  Can I get to a level where I am fully healed?

How well anyone who has had a concussion recovers depends on many factors.  However, there are active measures you can take to reduce the symptoms of concussion.  At HPR we have a concussion therapy protocol to address neuro-cognitive (clinical) and neuro-physical (non-clinical) aspects of concussions.  The first step is a thorough screening and assessment to determine what dysfunctions you may have, and then we build a plan of active recovery.  How much any individual is able to return to a pre-concussion level of neuro-cognitive and neuro-physical capability depends on the level of injury and the motivation of the individual to comply with the therapy.
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