About a month ago i hit my head and got a concussion. I am past all of the dizziness, nausea, and cognitive issues (all healed up), but I still am not able to exercise.

I understand I have to retrain my brain to handle the vascular load, or also termed, retrain my central nervous system to handle exercise. Right now I can barely walk 5 houses down the road without my brain swelling up like a balloon.

I'm goign to start physical therapy shortly for "regulated exercise." Curious if anyone else has done the same? What were the outcomes? I am a triathlete and need to get healthy and back out there. thanks.

Hi, i had TBI 14 years ago and like you had the same after effects. From your post it appears to me you are not fully recovered yet and you have to give your brain more rest [as you said your head swells up after walking awhile,well thats not right].As regards to physio, i had excercises after 3 months ,alas they were the wrong ones as i discovered 10 years later after getting my hospital records.I now have C.P. around my head and back area for the rest of my life and believe me i would not wish that on anybody.Make sure that your excercises are gentle to begin with and slowly progress from there and make sure your have a good physio and report any adverse reactions. Dont believe in the "no pain,no gain" slogan. good luck.

Hello,

I agree with the other poster.

You are not ready to exercise yet. I understand that is hard b/c you are a triathlete.

I figure a lot of people here are athletes too and know how hard it is to not exercise. But, it's so not worth it!

You need a lot more time to rest and heal. Your body will know when you can increase your activity. Plus, you will probably feel horrible after your exercise sessions.

Freezerdoor,

I'm in the same boat as you, I'm slowly healing my head's ability to adjust to blood pressure changes brought on by exercise. I, too, am a triathlete and am frustrated by not being able to train. My concussion was brought on by a PR marathon effort syncope (dehydration) which fully healed, and non-related surgery brought back the PCS-like symptoms 6 months later.

There's a study floating around which was conducted by the University of Buffalo regarding limited exercise. Basically talks about how exercising below the threshold that causes the symptoms of PCS can be done, tracked, and increased with time by following a methodical approach.

Google "University of Buffalo Concussion" and you'll get a few links.

I emailed the researcher to see if he knew anybody in Arizona familiar with this research, unfortunately he didn't but said to take a copy of the abstract to a sports physician and talk to them. You probably know about heart rate zone training as you are a triathlete, so it's the same kind of deal. Stay below threshold that causes you pain and increase intensity slowly. Could be over weeks, could be shorter, could be longer, everyone's different and YMMV.

But, for me in over 12 months I've gone from walking on my treadmill getting headaches and dizziness to being able to ride for up to about 2 hours at low heartrate with no headache. I still get severe headaches if I do any abdominal work or weights as it creates a spike in inner cranial pressure. So I try to be patient and enjoy what I've got back in terms of exercise.

Yes, to resonate the message others gave, don't push the healing process.

Mike

I was in the same boat you are in. Around two months after my initial concussion I rushed back into exercise because I assured myself I was symptom free and I was dying to get back to my sport. I relapsed and now, 4 months later, am still recovering from the relapse.

I'm now 6 months from my initial concussion and I'm heading to University Buffalo Concussion clinic tomorrow for the regulated exercise program. Hoping for some good results. I'll let you know how it goes.

Regarding your situation, I don't think you should be even thinking about exercise yet. If I hadn't rushed into working out, I would've saved myself months of despair and what was (and still is) a living hell for me. I would also still be playing collegiate soccer. I know exactly how you feel. I know as an athlete you're used to pushing yourself beyond your limits, but in this case you need to do the exact opposite. I really can't tell you if the exercise program is good for you or not at this point, but if you can barely walk 5 houses, I don't think you're ready.. Give yourself time. I just don't want anyone to make the same mistake as me.

I'm going into my 3rd month off work and off my exercise regime. I'm not a triathlete but I was a runner before my skiing accident and worked with a trainer on my non-run days. Everything has stopped now and although I'm so anxious to do something active, I've been told by everyone to take things slow.

Kelly, I live near Buffalo and I'm interested in learning about your experience at the UaB Clinic. Would you mind posting about anything you learn during your time there?

FreezerDoor - I have found that doing gentle stretches on the floor or holding onto a chair does help move the "stuck" energy in your body as well as going for massage therapy. It won't get your heart rate up but it will prevent your muscles from tightening up and it also keeps frustration levels low.

Ski.

Thanks everyone. Every person's post was very helpful to me.

I honestly haven't been resting like I should but i'll commit this week to resting and not even considering any attempt to do anything but and then go see the PT next week and see how it goes with very tiny baby steps.

The PT I talked to seemed to know what I was talking about when I mentioned UofB so we'll see if she can be helpful that way. I'd love to hear how that goes Kelly.

Thanks so much. Sorry to hear you all are also struggling or have struggled with this.

PT can be very helpful. But it has to be a very gentle start
with the evaluation to see what kind of things you need.

I am on my hmmm, gosh probably third or fourth concussion.

Its my 2nd or 3rd PT time though with a concussion. This is my
car accident one. This is always something that takes time.

But its something that when the pain starts to go down it is so
much nicer.

Donna

Do a search on this forum for University of Buffalo or Buffalo protocol and you will find it has been discussed by some who have been in the UB system.

One thing to keep in mind about the Buffalo protocol is there is no research or evidence that it speeds healing, just that it speeds the ability to return to exercise.

The biggest concern is that it ignores the issue of when the brain has recovered enough to tolerate another impact. There is plenty of evidence that second or third impacts are always more damaging with the same impact force regardless of the time period since the last concussion.

As chiro said, there is no room for the "No pain, No gain" mantra with the brain. The Buffalo protocol uses good supervision and biometrics to keep track of intensity. Once the symptomatic intensity threshold is found, the protocol backs of substantially for the regular exercise intensity. It is then slowly increased over time, I think at two week intervals.

For you triathletes, you will likely need to learn a softer running gait to reduce the impact transmitted to your head. Try walking with foam ear plugs in your ears and you will quickly understand how much impact is transmitted to you head. Learning a softer foot plant will go a long way.

I went to PT for a a month or two and they focused on strengthening my neck and back to help support the head and try to get fluid moving more easily to my head. Also, they had me to do some light weights for 15 min because I couldnt sit still (athlete myself, 5 concussions from sports). The PT helped a little and mostly helping with awareness of how strengthening my neck and back can be beneficial in the long run.
Has anyone heard or read about a routine sleep everynight, no more than 8-9 hours of sleep?? My neurologist is telling me to do that but its hard sometimes sleeping those hours (i need more). When I do, i am knocked out and have to nap for about 2 hours in the afternoon. Other times, I just blow by the 8-9 hours and sleep for 10-11.