PCS guidance please
 

Hi all

I suffered a concussion near the end of April 2017 which we like a collision and neck snapping back playing hockey.

I had a lot of dizziness and head pressure for quite a while.

The head pressure went away and I was just left with dizziness. After a while that pretty much subsided as well.

I had a couple of setbacks which lasted around 2 weeks due to having a small amount of alcohol.

After those passed I was able to start lifting weights again and everything was going pretty good. Going for walks almost daily too seemed to help.

A couple weeks ago I went to the gym and I guess I overdid it somehow, not sure, but the symptoms came back for a couple weeks and now even a small rise in heart rate brings back head pressure and dizziness symptoms for a couple hours. Even going on a walk is causing me problems.

Any advice is appreciated. I suspect something in my neck or sleeping issues. I'm trying to find the right pillow for proper support for side sleeping.

Thanks

swork,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

It sounds like you suffered a possible whiplash/brain stem concussion. It is related to the trauma to the upper neck. Lifting weights usually causes excessive neck muscle straining that can aggravate this.

Figuring out sleep positions and issues is important. Also, if you get cold shoulders while sleeping. it can cause one to tense the shoulder and neck muscles.

I bunch/fold a pillow to get the support I need in different positions. It can take weeks of proper sleeping posture to start to see improvements.

Thanks Mark

Do you think the Buffalo protocol might help me?

The Buffalo Protocol could help you slowly increase your tolerance for exercise. But, you need to be careful to not do exercises that stress your neck, etc.

Is the protocol outlined in detail here in the forum? I have searched high and low and can't find it

No, it is discussed.
Track your heart rate as you exercise. Find the point where symptoms appear and target exercise at 10 below that point. After a few weeks, try increasing your heart rate a bit to see if it trigger symptoms. if it does not exercise at that rate for a few weeks then increase your effort and heart rate again.

The Buffalo Protocol is focused on returning to play, not concussion recovery. Balance, reaction time, focus/concentration and such are assessed separately.

What is a "brain stem concussion"? I've started getting specific massage treatment for whiplash and issues connected to the top of my spine/base of skull and will go to a physio and hopefully an osteopath to treat this part of my injury, but have not heard of a brain stem concussion.

Some specialists believe that when the upper neck is traumatized in a whiplash or other trauma, the part of the brain that protrudes down into the upper neck is traumatized in a similar way to how the cerebellum and cerebrum are impacted.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...temAnatomy.png

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...temAnatomy.png

The brain stem can also be impacted by inflammation as it can reduced blood flow.

Thanks for the explanation. Do you have advise on how to treat a brain stem related concussion? As in, would a person need to address neck inflammation etc? I'm considering a NUCCA chiro to deal with my upper neck, but am leary of chiro adjustments as they've gone terribly wrong for my concussion symptoms in the first 3 months of my injury.

Hi Canuck,
Were you able to get this solved? I'm kind of suffering the same thing. Concussion 6 mos ago, hard work out after a month and then symptoms for 5 mos.