Concussion Myths Part 4

Our last segment on concussion myths is about prevention of concussion and the potential for long term effects.

  1. Concussions cause long term brain damage.
    1. There still isn’t enough evidence yet to support this claim. We still don’t know the exact causative link between concussions, multipole concussion, head trauma, and CTE or long-term neurodegeneration. Just because you’ve had concussions, doesn’t mean you’re going to have brain damage in the future. There are a lot of factors that apply, such as: how far a part were your concussions, were you fully healed from your concussion before the next one occurred, are concussions occurring frequently and with lighter forces, etc.
  2. Concussion recovery is not possible after a couple of years.
    1. It’s true that recovery is more challenging the longer it’s been but it is not impossible. Really depends on how badly you want to get better and finding the right team to work with in identifying where your symptoms are coming from and following through with the correct forms of rehab and re-training.
  3. Helmets and mouth guards prevent you from getting a concussion.
    1. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been an intervention yet that can actually prevent concussions. Protective gear such as helmets and mouth guards can reduce/redistribute some forces but they don’t stop the brain from shaking back and forth, which ultimately causes the concussion. Still important to be wearing a helmet to prevent skull fractures and other dangerous injuries, and mouth guard to prevent dental damage.

The best thing to do is have an assessment and see where you stand in your recovery and explore the treatments that are available to help you get back on track.  Book online at fih.janeapp.com or call 604.988.7080