When someone new comes in for a treatment we go through the typical intake question, then I ask more specific questions either related to what they’ve told me so far or specific to modalities that may be applicable to the client. One of the questions I ask is “what head injuries have you had?” Often I get the response of “none”. When it comes to the brain, everything matters. This means every knock to the head you’ve ever had, since birth, matters.
So, I ask again, what head injuries have you had? Do you know if you had a difficult birth? Did your brother drop you on your head when you were an infant? Were you a clumsy child? Did you fall down (or up) the stairs a lot? Fall off the jungle gym in school and put your tooth through your lip? Get hit by a foul ball at a baseball game? Fall off some horses? Slip on the ice and ended up with a goose egg? Rear-ended in your car? Hit your head on a cabinet door? Play any contact sports? These are some of the things I have personally experienced. If you didn’t answer yes to any of these questions and they didn’t remind you of any of your own personal experiences I have one more thought for you. If you’ve spent any amount of time around a toddler, how many times did you see them hit their head? Probably a lot. Remember - you were once that small, that perfect height to hit your head on the table!
A concussion is defined as:
“A type of traumatic brain injury - or TBI - caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the
head or by a hut to the body that causes the head and brain to move rapidly back
and forth”
Seemingly minor knocks might not seem like an injury but it all adds up. Over time, every
impact your body takes (along with other trauma) can influence the health of your brain. When your brain is impacted it changes things like hormones, focus, memory, vision, hearing and nerves throughout the body. It can cause anxiety, weight gain, depression, vertigo, balance & coordination issues. This might present immediately or could start showing up ten years or more after.
Whether you have recently experienced a concussion, have had one in the past but did not
receive treatment or simply want to improve your brain health, Equus Physio is equipped to help!
Written by Michelle Wilson, Osteopath.