Originally Posted by Mark in Idaho (Post 783836)

Seat belts reduce brain injuries by preventing the head from hitting the windshield. With a seat belt on, the head stops moving over a much greater distance, say 12 to 24 inches. When the head hits the windshield or dashboard, it stops rather quickly in 2 to 6 inches depending on how far into the windshield the head penetrates.

G forces and their impact on the brain depend on how quickly the skull stops moving or starts moving. When an object causes the sudden change in movement, the key factor is the amount of distortion of the impacting object and/or helmet.

If you were to look at the slow motion replay of a hit to the head, you might observe the head bouncing back off the surface or impacting object. A springy helmet lining could cause such a rebound. A fall to concrete could cause a bounce or could be absorbed by a deformation of the skull. Oddly enough, a little skull deformation or even fracture can greatly reduce the imp[act forces on the brain. The deformed area will likely have a focal injury but there will be less G force transmitted to the rest of the brain.

So, there are many factors that come into play when the head is accelerated or decelerated rapidly. There is often a rotational force involved, too. This rotational or twisting force impacts the brain against the many boney protuberances inside the skull. There can be bruising at the outer edges where the brain hits these boney protuberances. There can be shearing or tearing in the center of the brain as the brain twists against the central brain structures.

The only way to reduce brain damage is to create a system of padding or such to allow for the impact forces to be spread over a longer period of time which usually means more distortion at the moment of impact.

Estersdoll,

Vit B-12 is not absorbed orally for some people. There are sub-lingual drops that can be helpful. My wife takes them. The Lumosity has not shown to help with recovery but it is useful at improving brain skills that can help overcome other PCS symptoms by having stronger functions in other areas.

Think of it this way. You can try lifting something with your back by going from hunched over to erect. This can injure the back in many ways. This injured back can still do work if the person learns to lift with their legs. By keeping their weak back straight and balanced under the load, the legs do the lifting.

The brain is amazing at how it can use other undamaged functions to overcome weak or damaged functions. For me, Lumosity and Posit Science did not do any good because the functions they are designed to improve are already at near maximum levels of function.

Most people do not have highly developed observation skills such as those exercised by Lumosity and Posit Science. Improving these skills acts like a work-around as the brain learns new skills and neural pathways for doing functions that have been weakened by the concussion.

For example, I used to have a photographic memory. Not anymore. When I do the exercises that require remembering the location of a target, I can not be successful if I try to visualize the location of the target. Instead, I convert the image into a description. If the target is at 9:00 midway toward the edge of the field of view, I mentally say the textual description as " mid 9 o'clock" or some such similar description.

I learned this system driving. I can no longer remember what I just saw as I look to the left at a stop sign. By the time I have looked to the right, the left image is gone. So, instead, I say to myself, "clear on the left" as I look to the right. When "clear on the left" matches with a visual of 'clear on the right,' I can proceed.

If you have a hole in the pants pocket you habitually use but those pants have two pockets, you train your brain to use the other pocket.

Are you guys getting the idea?

Originally Posted by confuused905 (Post 783138)

hey amazinggrace,
after a concussion, there's a sequence of metabolic cascades that involve potassium leaking from cells and calcium influx into cells. however calcium is harmful to cellular metabolism in the mitochondria (cellular metabolism being responsible for ATP production). since creatine is a synthetic variant of ATP, it would make sense for creatine to provide energy for brain cells that are actively repairing. however, i'm not sure any neurologist would recommend this due to the load that creatine places on the kidneys.

Originally Posted by Mark in Idaho (Post 787670)

Jinx,

Thanks for the complement on my ability to post lots of information. If I tried to tell you this same information verbally, I would get all mixed up and confused. I use the keyboard and computer screen to slow the way my brain processes information. With this slower mechanism, I can organize my thoughts.

I also use the computer screen as my immediate and short term memory. I am frequently rereading the prior sentence to get back on track with my thoughts. It is a skill I have developed over the past ten years by doing it over and over.

I can still hit mental road blocks that stop me in my tracks. When that happens, I have to just walk away.

I have been developing/learning work-arounds and other PCS coping skills for 40 years. I can function at very high levels if I can set the pace for the task. If someone else sets the pace, I will try to follow or keep up but soon crash. When I reach that point, I may withdraw completely or explode verbally.

If I could find work where I could set the pace and not have to put up with pressures from others, I could be very successful. As the occupational psychologist said at my SSDI disability hearing, those employment situations do not exist very frequently. My SSDI qualification was not based on my cognitive and memory deficits. It was based on my inability to work in normal work situations.

When I do take on a intense task, it can take me two to three times as long as expected. I need to take breaks when I hit these mental road blocks.

I would love to work with others who have suffered mTBI and such except it requires state licensing. I had to drop out of college where I was studying to get into dental school because of my inability to handle the stress loads.

I know I can get long winded. I break my posts up into short paragraphs to help people read them easier.

It may help if those who found something of interest would print out the post. Then they can read the post at a leisurely pace. I do this from time to time. I even cut and paste posts or articles into MSWord so I can break it into smaller bites.

Yes, the PCS brain can easily become overwhelmed with information. Learning how to handle and manipulate information is an important part of over-coming PCS.

If anybody has specific problems with processing information, Post your struggles and someone will have a way to work through that problem.

btw, After having to deal with many episodes of relapse into severe PCS, I have come to accept that some skills will recover but many will require learning new ways to do things.