[Tpont21]

So I had my visit at the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Clinic today (excellent state-of-the-art facility by the way). I took the IMPACT test which was a test on the computer that asked me which symptoms I was experiencing on a scale 1-6, then proceeded to test my memory, speed, and other skills using a series of 6 different tests. I then met with two neuropsychologists afterwards to discuss the results along with my history and current status.

The docs basically told me that my main weaknesses are in the vestibular area. He told me to hold out my thumb and follow it 180 degrees with my eyes and said my eyes jump to follow my thumb when it should be a smooth motion.

He wrote me a script and recommended I take balance / vestibular physical therapy and noted that it is going to help a lot with my foggy thinking and dizziness symptoms.

He also said with my injury being in crowds is going to make my symptoms much worse, which I can personally attest to.

He also gave me a few other suggestions:

1. Do not take naps. Go to bed and wake up at the same time everyday including weekends.

2. Exercise about 5 days a week using low weights and low impact such as stationary bikes or treadmills. But avoid going to the gym during times there are a lot of people there.

3. Repeat cycles of exposure and rest. In other words, do something active, and follow it up with rest. Basically don't be too active for too long or rest for too long. Exposure could be considered going to Costco, working at work, going to the gym, going for a walk, paying bills, etc. Rest would obviously include quiet time but NOT napping.

He told me that it is more difficult to recover from injuries with my personality type (Type A) because we like to push ourselves often beyond what we should. He also said that anxiety is typically what my personality type experiences with concussions, rather than depression. He re-assured me that my anxiety is normal.

He told me I will recover 100%. He sounded very confident that the vestibular / balance physical therapy is going to help me a lot.

Does anybody have experience with vestibular / balance physical therapy? Did it help you? What should I expect to go through?

My first appointment is this coming Monday (May 6) followed by two more visits (1/wk) until my follow up appointment with the neuro on May 23.

All in all I feel much more confident I am going to get through this thing. He recommended I continue with my 4 hour work days at least until my follow up appointment.

[Mark in Idaho]

Sounds like you got some good advice. They know a lot about concussions but are still over-stating some of their claims. "He told me I will recover 100%" If you read their research, they admit that they do not have systems to measure recovery to the 100% level. Since their goal is Return to Play, this may be what they mean by 100% recovery. Even then, they also admit that they can not measure and predict if the brain ever recovers to its pre-concussion level of tolerance for another impact.

So, follow their instruction but remember to protect your brain from further impacts.

[chickenmonkeyrs]

Way to go!!! Im glad you found someone that can pin point the problem and find possible solutions. Keep us updated on how the therapy goes.

[MiaVita2012]

I have been doing vestibular therapy and PT with a TBI specialist since January.I was a little sick in the beginning and I practice both vestibular therapy and PT at home and see therapist twice a week.We are working on balance test again right now to see how I am coming along with therapy.

Wish you the best

[Su seb]

I read your post yesterday but didn't respond becca use I have difficulty writing well.

I went to dizzy and balance therapy and found it extremely helpful. Part of it was that I love my therapist. My symptoms were horrible a few months ago and now they are 90percent better, which makes life much easier. It took me eight weeks of therapy to get better.

I still go now but we are working on vision. I can't get in to see a specialist til late July.

I am also type a. My advise to you is to not try to do too much too soon. They would tell me to do thirty reps , 3 sets. So I would think, I can do twice that! And then I would get sick! You need to take things very slowly. Everyone would ask what my therapy was. And I would have to say that this week I am trying to stand in a corner and move my head without falling over. And they would say really, that's all? Yes, it's really hard. Then I rest and try to walk across the room while moving my head. Then I rest again.

But I really noticed the gradual improvement.

And luckily my therapist knew more about concussions than anyone that I had met and she had plent of time to talk to me.

Su seb

So Vestibular therapy is basically balance and vision exercise?
My chiropractic neurologist has been doing various balance exercises with me like one foot in front of the other arms crossed and eyes closed to check on my my balance. Before he does this he asks me to do a series of eye exercises where my eyes follow his finger to various places and then he will move his finger quickly and i have to shoot my eyes to his finger quickly. He will ask me to spread my fingers wide and he will try to push them in and then hold my arms up one at a time and try to push them down. Then I need to go home and do an eye exercise where I will follow my finger in a diagonal peripheral and then quickly shoot my glance to the opposite side and I will do this exercise on one foot and then the other. Another exercise he told me to do is stand stand one food in front of the other and my left arm will be doing figure eights in front of me.

My one post concussion symptoms are chornic headaches. I'm not really too sure what these exercises are doing and how they will benefit me?

Thank you for your feedback.

Originally Posted by Su seb

I read your post yesterday but didn't respond becca use I have difficulty writing well.

I went to dizzy and balance therapy and found it extremely helpful. Part of it was that I love my therapist. My symptoms were horrible a few months ago and now they are 90percent better, which makes life much easier. It took me eight weeks of therapy to get better.

I still go now but we are working on vision. I can't get in to see a specialist til late July.

I am also type a. My advise to you is to not try to do too much too soon. They would tell me to do thirty reps , 3 sets. So I would think, I can do twice that! And then I would get sick! You need to take things very slowly. Everyone would ask what my therapy was. And I would have to say that this week I am trying to stand in a corner and move my head without falling over. And they would say really, that's all? Yes, it's really hard. Then I rest and try to walk across the room while moving my head. Then I rest again.

But I really noticed the gradual improvement.

And luckily my therapist knew more about concussions than anyone that I had met and she had plent of time to talk to me.

Su seb

[Tpont21]

Yesterday was my first appointment at physical therapy. The PT did a thorough evaluation and recommended a bunch of different exercises for me to do at home 2-3 times a day (7 exercises total). Most of the exercises have me focus on an object and move my head and eyes in different ways. A few other ones have me walking an turning my head or balancing with my eyes closed.

I've done the exercises 3 times total now, 1 at the PT's office and twice on my own. The problem is I woke up with pretty bad brain fog today. I feel a little less dizzy, but my brain fog is overwhelming.. definitely worse than usual. It almost feels like I'm high. Has anyone else experiencing anything like this when they began physical therapy? Do you think my brain is just getting used to the exercises and the brain fog will subside?

This just seems like a step in the wrong direction for me and it's very frustrating.

[DFayesMom]

PT pushes your boundaries, and that is its nature. I think it's normal to have a reaction to it. I was told that as long as it is not creating headaches, it's okay, but if you have dizziness, let the dizziness subside before you start the next exercise.

That said, if you are nervous, call and talk to your therapist. He/she may reassure you or tell you to ease into doing your exercises. It does seem like a lot to me. I know I didn't start with 7 exercises, which isn't to say that there is anything wrong with it, but I could see why it's overwhelming to you.

I remember that high feeling. I had it for months. Do you feel like it's in part caused by how you are seeing things or is it just a feeling in your head?

[Tpont21]

Originally Posted by DFayesMom

PT pushes your boundaries, and that is its nature. I think it's normal to have a reaction to it. I was told that as long as it is not creating headaches, it's okay, but if you have dizziness, let the dizziness subside before you start the next exercise.

That said, if you are nervous, call and talk to your therapist. He/she may reassure you or tell you to ease into doing your exercises. It does seem like a lot to me. I know I didn't start with 7 exercises, which isn't to say that there is anything wrong with it, but I could see why it's overwhelming to you.

I remember that high feeling. I had it for months. Do you feel like it's in part caused by how you are seeing things or is it just a feeling in your head?

I feel like its in part how I am seeing things. I guess I'm basically re-training my brain to see things differently with these exercises so maybe it puts additional stress on the brain until the brain can fully adjust. I definitely did not feel this "high" anytime recently. It does feel like its all right behind my eyes.. Sorta like my eye muscles are a little sore? It's difficult to explain.

Just to be safe I'm going to shoot my PT an email and ask if this is normal and if\when I need to stop. 5 of 7 of my exercises are 2-3 times daily so I'm just gonna do them 2 times a day now until I feel more comfortable to move to 3.

[DFayesMom]

When I was doing vestibular therapy, I had extreme troubles doing any of the ones that involved eye movements, to the point where I just refused to do them anymore. My head would immediately start hurting and my eyes would feel so strained. It got to the point where my physical therapist didn't know what to do with me and didn't know how to help me, so that's when she referred me to the neuro-opthalmologist.

If you wait and see how it goes with the physical therapy, just don't keep doing it for months on end without result like I did! Knowing what I know now, with your symptoms, I would go ahead and make an appointment with a neuro-opthalmologist. The only reason to wait would be financial considerations or lack of access to care, but if it's covered by your insurance and you have one in your area, there's really no reason not to go get checked out. That's just my two cents! Good luck!