On June 8th my daughter collided with a team mate at soccer practice. She suffered 5 fractures - 3 around her eye and 2 in the sinuses. She had a comotio (sp?) on her retina and her optic nerve was elevated.

The eye doctor says the comotio is gone and the optic nerve now looks fine. She does need glasses now though - which she did not wear previously (-1.5). I'm assuming at this point the bones are healed.

She still suffers from headaches and often has trouble falling asleep. She is seeing a doctor at children's memorial. She says to just keep resting and it will heal in time. She has advised that my daughter not go back to school full time (starts next week).

I was looking at this site this morning (won't let me post link)
University of Buffalo - University of Sports Medicine - Concussion Clinic

They use exercise to treat PCS. Does anyone here have any experience with it/them? This waiting and doing nothing is getting hard, and I'm not sure it is the right answer.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you

Hello,

Although I haven't been there, and I certainly am not a doctor or specialist, they look pretty credible. I would be interested to see what sort of exercises they do to relieve pcs. There are also other therapies out there that have been proven effective for pcs.

These include:

-neurofeedback
-vision therapy
-Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)
-Vitamins like B12 and B6
-cranial sacral therapy
-Diet therapy
-cognitive training

I would recommend Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, neurofeedback and/or vision therapy for her. With such a young and fertile brain, she should have no problem making a good recovery. The only caveat is that the insurance companies won't pay for neurofeedback and they only sometimes will pay for HBOT and vision therapy. However, if you can get your doctor to word it in the right way, then they may pay for either one of them. HBOT is approved by the FDA for trauma, and trauma related cases and I have known some insurance companies to pay for vision therapy if structural damage can be shown.

In the meantime, she should definitely change her diet. Dr. Daniel Amen talks about this on his website, so it may be worth looking at. Basically, she should eat lots and lots of protein and minimize her carb/simple sugar intake. She should also increase her consumption of the B vitamins, especially B12 and B6. Niacin is also a good one to take and also take Omega 3 supplements. Lastly, she should drink 30-40% more water than she usually does, assuming she drank enough to begin with.

Just google search all of these therapies and you'll find loads of information on them.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Wow, that was one heck of a collision!

The previous post was excellent. The only thing I would add is to be watchful for any personality changes (yes, I realize that can be difficult to recognize in young adults) that might be indicative of a more serious brain injury.

I’m not familiar with the clinic in question. However, I think that you are very wise to have her seen at a university facility: most family doctors lack the training to deal with head injuries.

When she returns to school, make sure that her instructors are made aware that she has sustained a concussion. At least for a time she may need some allowances to be made: extra time for assignments, quieter settings for tests, etc…

Wishing her a speedy recovery,
Hockey

Thanks Hockey, your post was also very excellent. I would just add that sometimes you need to get a neuropsych test done in order to get accommodation in school. For some reason, the schools won't allow accommodations without one. And you should also know, in case you don't, that federal law mandates that if her tests do show deficits, they are required to give her accommodations without disclosure to her teachers. The counselor will set everything up for you. However, like Hockey suggested, simply talking to the counselors and her teachers will sometimes suffice. If needed, she can also use this to get accommodations on the SAT and while in college.

I would also suggest that you take her to a doctor that specializes in
opthamalogist neurology.

I have been through physical therapy for this. It helped immensely.

Please keep us updated. By the way if you need help with school issues
let me know in Pm, I'm a parent advocate in Indiana and know the Federal
Law.

And there are two things to do :
1. Have the doctor write up the 1/2 day or what ever.
2. Also the other things he/she thinks.

Donna

Thank you all for you responses. You've given me some more avenues to look into.

Yesterday I was introduced to a chiropractor who works with boxers and karate students. He sees a lot of head injuries. I personally have not had great experience with chiropractors in the past but I did make an appointment to see him Monday.

I think I know of a place in Chicago for the oxygen therapy. I'll give them a call today.

What would diet therapy be? A little over three years ago I became a raw vegan - I have not had to use my asthma inhalers at all and I've not been sick (which is amazing, especially in the late fall when my allergies used to be horrible). My daughter eats well, but not great. We were just talking yesterday about a strict clean diet trial.

Thanks again for your help. I have so much to learn.

jmoran,

Diet therapy should be called nutrition therapy. She wants to eat a diet free of food allergens. She probably does not know what food allergies she has. The vitamin therapy is very important. B-6, B-12 are just a start.

She needs to get on a broad based vitamin therapy. I take a B-50 or B-100 complex plus 400mcg of B-12 and 400mg of B-6, niacin, Omega 3, C, D+magnesium, E, and other common minerals, etc.

HBOT is controversial at this point of her recovery. It is more beneficial just after the head injury. In as much as good oxygen to the brain sounds like it would always be good, the studies show a variety of both good and bad outcomes. Some show an increase in seizure symptoms.

You do not mention any cognitive/memory symptoms. The headache and insomnia can take quite some time to resolve. She has suffered a serious injury.

If she is having any academic like struggles? If so, she should get a neuro-psychological assessment. This can determine if she has memory and other dysfunctions.

Understanding her symptoms is important. The stress from the confusion of symptoms is not good. A feeling of "Am I going crazy?" can result. The neuro-psych can help with this understanding. Personality changes can also be confusing.

She is still early in her recovery. She needs to learn how to keep stress factors low. Her social calendar may need to be reduced, possibly drastically. Her school work load may need reducing. She may need to ask for a tutor. She needs to abstain from alcohol, totally.

You did not say whether she is in high school or college. There are different accommodations available at each.

At least for the short term (a year or so), she needs to be prepared for learning difficulties. Her past learning style may have totally changed. Auditory and visual memory functions may have changed.

Regarding her insomnia, she may need to start preparing for sleep hours before hand. A lower stimulus environment may help her brain start to settle down.

The chiropractor may be helpful. Often, MTBI subjects suffer neck injuries that can effect neurological functions. Cranial Sacral Therapy is useless except for the neck (cervical vertebra) mobilization techniques. The plates of the cranium DO NOT MOVE as suggested in Cranial Sacral Therapy. The research on CST is over-whelming.

Again, she needs to get a good understanding of her symptoms. Neuro-psych Assessment is probably the best start.

Also, no more soccer. It is now a very dangerous sport for her. Simple heading of the ball can cause serious decompensations (relapse of symptoms). She needs to protect her brain from "Second Impact Syndrome."

Been there, done that. Suffered a serious academic struggle from head injury from soccer.

Download, print out and read Dr Glen Johnson's TBI Guide at http://www.tbiguide.com/ It is probably the best at TBI information.

Good luck to you and your daughter. Be patient with her and her recovery. It can be slow.

Look up the N.O.R.A. website. It is full of practitioners that specialize in vision rehabilitation for brain injuries. You should be able to find someone in your area.

Contrary to what Mark posted, I would still look into HBOT. Although it can cause seizures, it is extremely rare and the seizures stop once the person takes off the mask. It's basically due to oxygen toxicity. HBOT is considered a drug by the FDA, so it is highly regulated by them, which means that anyone who is running an HBOT clinic has been extensively trained to prevent this from happening. So, I wouldn't concern yourself with this. She is still close enough in time to her injury that she should benefit from it. If you are unsure about it, you could always google search it. I know a guy where I live who has been doing it for years, I'll run your case by him and see what he says. Also, I do know that insurance will cover HBOT for trauma victims, so, if you word it correctly, you may be able to get your insurance company to pay for it. Otherwise, it usually costs betwen $100 - $150 per session and most places will give bulk discounts. The average number of sessions is around 40.

Mark is right about the soccer. When I was in college, I study was conducted that compared the average IQ of soccer players to non-college athletes across a multitude of campuses. I don't remember the exact numbers, but the soccer players had a 10-15% lower IQ. They speculated this was due to heading the ball. So, there you have it.

Good luck again. Being so young, if she does the right therapies, she should have no problem making a good recovery.

If your daughter is still in high school please make sure that you at least visit the thought of a 504 plan with the school. And get her doctor on board.

I'm a parent advocate and can explain this better if need be. But would
rather explain to the degree you need.

So if you need educational help for school. Start a thread and I'll try
to answer your questions. I work in the state of Indiana but have access
for a list for all states. And know the law for all states.

Donna

mhr4 is very close about the IQ differential. They see a 9 to 10 percent decrease in the IQ of soccer players who routinely head the ball. They also often find that soccer players have thicker skulls. This would be a normal occurrence due to the stress to the bones from heading the ball.

They also find soccer players can tend to have more neck problems. As I noted previously, a chiropractor may be able to help with her neck. Worth calling around to find a chiropractor with long term experience with head injuries. She can have an injury at the occipital condyle to C-1 junction. This can cause headaches.

An interesting finding about soccer players is counter-intuitive. They find a greater risk of brain injury from heading drills that from a corner kick header toward goal. The thought is the repetition of a heading drill does not allow the brain to recover before another insult.

The other big risk is the competing or contested header. Each player is trying to head the ball in the opposite direction. These can be devastating when the two heads collide.

The incidence of head injury is higher in soccer than it is in football (American football) yet football players hit their heads far more often.

Like Donna said, seriously consider a 504 IEP (Individual Education Program). If you get ahead of her education issues, she will not be stuck trying to catch up.

My grades fell 1 whole GPA point after my injury. The school nurse tried to get my teachers to accommodate my needs but was denied. That was in 1971. No 504 IEP back then. It took me 1 1/2 years to get my grades back up.