The Cognitive FX Blog
Your source for everything you need to know about traumatic brain injury and concussions.
Brain Safety & Care | Concussions | Education & Resources | Post Concussion Treatment
Dizziness. Nausea. Balance problems. Car-sickness. These are a few of the unpleasant symptoms of vestibular dysfunction after a head injury. Fortunately, they don’t have to be permanent; most patients make rapid improvement with a good therapist.
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Concussions | Education & Resources | Post Concussion Treatment | Traumatic Brain Injury
Recovering from a head injury is an emotional, difficult journey whether you’re male or female. On that journey, women face a few hurdles that men do not. Today, we’d like to talk about those hurdles and a few ways you can handle them as they come.
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Brain Injury Awareness | Brain Safety & Care | Education & Resources | Traumatic Brain Injury
Here’s something you probably won’t hear in the emergency room: A transient ischemic attack (TIA, or mini-stroke) can have symptoms that last for months or years afterward. Many healthcare providers think these symptoms are rare or at least short term, but a 2013 survey from the UK Stroke Association showed otherwise. Seventy percent of respondents reported long-term after effects such as cognitive difficulties or poor mobility. And sixty percent had emotional changes after the incident.
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Brain Injury Awareness | Education & Resources | Post Concussion Treatment | Traumatic Brain Injury
Neurofeedback is a confusing topic for patients to decipher on their own. Many clinics use big words and brief explanations, and they claim that neurofeedback can cure any number of conditions, from ADHD to post-concussion syndrome.
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Brain Safety & Care | Concussions | Education & Resources | Post Concussion Treatment
Dry needling and acupuncture can help relieve certain post-concussion symptoms. They are not a cure-all, either for acute concussion or post-concussion syndrome, but if you suffer from headaches, neck and back pain, or nausea, keep reading.
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Brain Injury Awareness | Concussions | Education & Resources | Traumatic Brain Injury
At our post-concussion treatment clinic, patients sometimes present with short- or long-term hormone dysfunction after brain injury. While we don’t treat hormonal imbalance at our clinic, we often make referrals for it and communicate with our patients’ physicians about their condition.
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Brain Safety & Care | Education & Resources | Post Concussion Treatment | Traumatic Brain Injury
Oxygen is good for the brain. A lack of oxygen is bad for the brain. So is getting more than normal levels of oxygen better for the brain?
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Brain Injury Awareness | Brain Safety & Care | Concussions | Education & Resources
Low energy, difficulty concentrating, brain fog, anxiety, depression, memory problems...
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Brain Safety & Care | Concussions | Education & Resources | Healthy Food & Habits
Some doctors say it’s absolutely unsafe to drink liquor when you’re recovering from a concussion. Others say it’s safe, but it might set back your recovery. Still others say, “Why not substitute a fancy coffee for your favorite cocktail on your next night out?” (Please don’t do this. We’ll explain why later in this post.)
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Brain Safety & Care | Concussions | Education & Resources | Post Concussion Treatment
What should you do when your concussion symptoms don’t go away?
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Brain Safety & Care | Cognitive FX News | Education & Resources | Life After EPIC Treatment
The Hariri lab at Duke University recently published a review that questions the reliability of task-based fMRI as used to examine individual patients.
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Brain Safety & Care | Education & Resources | Post Concussion Treatment | Traumatic Brain Injury
Between 80,000-90,000 of people who suffer traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) each year develop long-term disabilities related to their TBI. Many others suffer from a variety of long-term, problematic symptoms that continue to interfere with their lives. When they try to get help for these issues, they are often told there’s nothing more that can be done — or worse, that there’s nothing wrong with them at all. Here’s the good news: Recovery can and does continue for patients who find the right help.
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Brain Safety & Care | Concussions | Education & Resources | Post Concussion Treatment
There is a whole world of hurt and pain for patients who experience mental health symptoms after a concussion. Not all of them realize that concussions can cause anxiety, and those who do know it don’t know why it’s happening or how to fix it. Many visit psychiatrists who prescribe medication that may just make things worse (something we’ll explain in depth later in the post).
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Brain Safety & Care | COVID | Education & Resources
It should come as no surprise that COVID-19 — both the illness itself and all the situational changes that come with the coronavirus pandemic — is messing with our minds. Many people are experiencing heightened anxiety in response to the pandemic, and not just people who have experienced anxiety before.
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Brain Injury Awareness | Brain Safety & Care | Education & Resources | Traumatic Brain Injury
Many viral and bacterial infections are capable of affecting the brain and causing widespread dysfunction that may outlast the acute disease symptoms. Patients with long-term symptoms after viral encephalitis or meningitis may suffer from fatigue, headaches, difficulty concentrating, sleep issues, memory problems, emotional changes, and more.
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Brain Injury Awareness | Concussions | Education & Resources | Traumatic Brain Injury
Note: While this quiz will give you some insight into your current conditions, your results are only as good as your answers. It is not a substitute for seeing a doctor and is not official medical advice. If you’re experiencing any of the signs of severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), seek medical attention immediately. Otherwise, feel free to use this quiz as a starting point to determine if you need further care. Also note that, while we may record your responses, it is not linked with any personally-identifying information.
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Brain Safety & Care | Concussions | Education & Resources | Post Concussion Treatment
[Note: This article was written during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. We recommend that you check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for travel advisories and health information when making travel decisions.]
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Brain Safety & Care | Education & Resources | Mental Health Support After a Brain Injury | Post Concussion Treatment
If you’ve had a concussion (or two, or three … ), there’s a good chance someone told you to rest in a dark room and do nothing until your symptoms go away. But research over the past few years has revealed that resting in a dark room (known as “cocooning”) is not the best way to treat a concussion.
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Brain Safety & Care | Concussions | Education & Resources | Post Concussion Treatment
We can all agree that nausea is terrible. If it’s a one-time thing because you ate expired yogurt, well, it’s not the end of the world — you’ll be back to normal in a day or two. But nausea that lasts for days? Or comes back every time you exercise? It’s awful.
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Brain Safety & Care | Concussions | Education & Resources | Post Concussion Treatment
Brain fog is one of the most common symptoms of a concussion. On lists of warning signs of a concussion, it might be listed as “trouble concentrating,” “slowness in thinking,” or even “difficulty remembering and learning new information.”
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