The UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program in Pittsburgh receives more than 20,000 visits a year and treats concussions in athletes and non-athletes.1 Cognitive FX in Provo, Utah, treats adults whose symptoms are still there months or years later, in one or two intensive weeks. If your injury is recent or you need care billed to insurance, UPMC or a program like it near you is usually the right place to start. If symptoms have lasted three months or more despite standard care, Cognitive FX may fit. Both programs use active therapy rather than rest. They differ in format, in how each one decides what to treat, and in who pays. Cognitive FX is not affiliated with UPMC.
Services side by side
Testing, therapies and medical care
UPMC from its own website. Cognitive FX from our clinical team.
Service
UPMC
Cognitive FX
Testing and imaging
Functional brain scanfMRI that shows how brain regions work
Standard MRI or CTShows brain structure
Neuropsychology evaluationThinking, memory and mood testing
Vestibular and eye-movement examBalance, eye tracking and focusing
Therapies
Vestibular and vision therapyDizziness, balance and eye problems
Exercise and exertion trainingGraded aerobic work
Cognitive therapyMemory, attention and processing
Occupational therapyDaily tasks, work and school
Neuromuscular therapyNeck, posture and muscle tension
CounselingAnxiety, mood and coping
Medical care and billing
Prescription medicationHeadache, sleep, nausea and mood
Insurance billingClinic bills your health plan
UPMC from its concussion treatment and team pages, checked October 21, 2026.2,3 "Not listed" means the clinic does not list it, not that it can never arrange it.
The two programs overlap more than they differ. Both test balance, eye movement and thinking, and both use vestibular and vision therapy, graded exercise and counseling. Both reject the old advice to rest in a dark room until symptoms pass.
The chart shows three real differences. Cognitive FX adds a functional brain scan before and after treatment. Its own therapists deliver cognitive, occupational and neuromuscular therapy in the same week, while UPMC's doctors refer patients to cognitive and occupational therapists when they need them.2 And care at UPMC is usually billed to your health insurance, while Cognitive FX is out-of-network. Both programs can order a standard MRI and prescribe medication.
A longer list of services does not make a program better for you. The better program is the one that matches where you are in recovery.
Program details
How the two programs work
| UPMC Concussion Program | Cognitive FX | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Athletes and non-athletes who want a large hospital program near Pittsburgh, with care billed to insurance | Adults with symptoms that are still limiting daily life three months or more after a concussion or mild TBI |
| First visit | One day in Pittsburgh: ImPACT testing, a clinical exam, a vestibular and eye-movement screen (VOMS) and time with a neuropsychologist. Video visits are also offered | A short online questionnaire, then a consult call. On your first treatment morning, an fNCI brain scan with results reviewed the same day |
| Treatment format | A plan matched to your concussion type, done at home and in therapy visits, with follow-up visits | One or two intensive weeks in Provo, about 9 to 5, with every therapy in one building and rest built into the day |
| After treatment | Follow-up visits. Telemedicine is offered case by case | A home program built from your scan results and video follow-ups for about 2 to 3 months |
| Cost | No program price listed. Usually billed to your health insurance | Scans $1,500. One week $13,000, scans included. Two weeks $24,700. Out-of-network |
Cognitive FX prices as of October 2026.
Neither program is the right answer for everyone. UPMC is a large academic program with sports medicine doctors, physiatrists, neuropsychologists, therapists and surgeons on its concussion team.3 Cognitive FX is a smaller private clinic that focuses on one situation: adults whose symptoms have lasted months.
UPMC is usually the better choice if:
Cognitive FX is usually the better choice if:
Persistent symptoms are common. In a large US study of people treated at trauma centers for a mild TBI, 53% still reported limits on daily life 12 months later.4 If your injury is recent, start with UPMC or a similar program near you. If you have already done that and still have symptoms, Cognitive FX is worth a look.
Is this you?
Signs our program may fit
If two or more sound like you, a free consult is the next step.
Book my free consultThis list is not a diagnosis.
For patients who travel, UPMC schedules the first appointments in a single day, often at one location. The visit often includes ImPACT computerized testing, a detailed clinical exam, a vestibular and eye-movement screen called VOMS, time with a neuropsychologist and a talk about your plan of care.5 Most of its experts see you on the same day, in the same clinic.1 UPMC also offers video visits, though it may ask you to come to Pittsburgh for further evaluation.5
At Cognitive FX, you start with a short online questionnaire (about 10 minutes), then a consult call with our team. Your treatment week begins with an fNCI scan, a functional MRI that measures how 56 brain regions work while you do thinking tasks and compares them with a healthy reference group. Standard brain scans show structure, which is why they are often normal after a concussion. The fNCI scan shows function. It is not a diagnosis on its own. We use it with your history and other tests to decide which therapies you need and how hard to push each one.
UPMC's clinicians sort concussions into six types: vestibular (balance), ocular (eye movement), cognitive fatigue, post-traumatic migraine, cervical (neck) and anxiety or mood.2,6 A person can have more than one type. The first-visit tests are designed to find your types, and treatment targets them: vestibular therapy for dizziness, vision exercises for eye problems, behavioral therapy for anxiety, and so on.2 In 2015, UPMC's doctors led a meeting of 37 concussion experts that agreed strict rest is not recommended and that "active and targeted treatments may enhance recovery after concussion."6 Their statement, published in 2016, also called for more research on the types and on the best timing for each treatment.
Cognitive FX also uses active treatment, but it plans therapy from the fNCI scan as well as your symptoms. Every therapist works from the same scan report to target the brain regions that showed problems. Each session follows the same cycle: exercise first, then targeted therapy, then rest.
The 3D model below shows what an fNCI scan measures, using sample results on a model brain. Red shows regions working harder than a healthy reference group and blue shows regions working less. Drag or swipe to rotate it, and switch between the sample patients. It is an illustration, not your scan or a diagnosis.
Timing is the bigger practical difference. UPMC designs an at-home plan for your type of concussion, with therapy visits and follow-up visits. UPMC notes that some people recover by following that plan from home.5 Cognitive FX puts the therapy into one week. You spend full days at our clinic, and your therapists check in with each other at the end of each day. The week is demanding, and many patients feel more tired while it is underway.
Your week at Cognitive FX
One intensive week in Provo
If you completed a plan at UPMC or a similar program and still have symptoms months later, that is the situation our program was designed for. You already know your concussion type and have done the exercises. The open question is why some symptoms did not respond.
Our program approaches that question in three ways:
Our program does not fit everyone who still has symptoms. If you have a new injury that needs checking, or you need care that insurance will pay for, your UPMC team or your own doctor is the better place to start. Our program works alongside your doctors and does not replace their follow-up.
Dr. Alina K. Fong, PhDClinical Director
Dr. Lynn M. Gaufin, MDDirector of Neurosurgery
Annie Morgan, RNDirector of Patient Care
Plus other therapists as needed. Meet the full team
In an independent study by Amsterdam UMC and UMC Groningen, 77% of the 52 patients measured six months after treatment had a clinically meaningful reduction in symptoms.7 The study was observational, not randomized, and individual results vary. Read our summary of the independent study.
UPMC's approach builds on the 2016 expert statement described above, which found that active, targeted treatment may help recovery.6
A patient's view, from our Google reviews:
"I went through two different concussion programs in Pittsburgh and did not fit the mold of a normal concussion, they could not help. ... I had severe headaches everyday for almost two years after my car crash I was in, after week one they were gone."
Matt B., Google review, September 2024
Individual results vary.
UPMC's concussion pages do not list a program price. Care at a hospital system like UPMC is usually billed to your health insurance, so your cost depends on your plan, your copays and how many visits you need. To ask about your situation, the UPMC concussion program lists 412-432-3681.5 If you live far from Pittsburgh, add travel for the first visit and any return trips.
At Cognitive FX:
We are out-of-network and do not bill insurance. After treatment you get a superbill to submit yourself, and reimbursement depends on your plan. We accept CareCredit, HSA and FSA. Travel and lodging are not included, and most patients fly in to Provo. If cost decides it for you, insurance-covered care at UPMC or a clinic near you is a reasonable place to start.
Next steps
Book a free consult about your symptoms
Prefer to call? (385) 375-8590, 9 to 5 Mountain.
Related reading: Cleveland Clinic vs Cognitive FX and Mayo Clinic post-concussion care.
It depends on where you are in recovery. UPMC is a strong choice soon after a concussion and for anyone who needs insurance billing or care close to Pittsburgh. Cognitive FX is built for adults whose symptoms have lasted three months or more and who have already tried standard care.
Yes. UPMC's concussion team includes specialists for symptoms that worsen or do not go away, and the program treats athletes and non-athletes. Call the UPMC concussion program to ask about your situation.
No. Many of our patients have tried standard care first, such as rest, medication or weekly physical therapy, but it is not required. If your injury was less than three months ago, local vestibular or physical therapy is usually the better first step.
Cognitive FX is out-of-network and does not bill insurance. After treatment we give you a superbill you can submit yourself. Reimbursement depends on your plan and is not guaranteed. We accept CareCredit, HSA and FSA.
At Cognitive FX, scans are $1,500 and a week of treatment is $13,000, with the before and after scans included. Two weeks are $24,700. UPMC's concussion pages do not list a program price. Care at a hospital system like UPMC is usually billed to your health insurance, so your cost there depends on your plan.
Typically about six weeks from when our team accepts your case to your treatment week.
Yes. Our program works alongside your neurologist or primary care doctor and does not replace their follow-up.
In an emergency, call 911.
