Closed Head Traumatic Brain Injury

One of the most common injuries is head injuries. On occasion, who doesn’t walk into open cabinets or hit their head on something that wasn’t supposed to be there?! Kids fall all of the time and hit their heads. Sometimes we hit our heads so hard we lose consciousness for a few seconds.

Football players have gotten a lot of press regarding this in the past few years. In order to understand how sensitive the brain is we have to understand the anatomy and physiology of a head injury.

The brain sort of floats in the cranium (the inside of the skull). It is attached to the cranium by delicate sheaths which can tear very easily. The space in between the brain and cranium can swell or become edemic which is very very dangerous.

When the head hits a barrier, the head stops moving, but the brain can slosh back and forth. Have ever seen a whiplash in slow motion of the neck in a car crash? Imagine the same thing happening in the cranium. The brain bounces back and forth inside the skull and causes possible bruising, bleeding and swelling.

The body’s response with this type of injury, any injury, is to repair the assault. The repair, believe it or not, is an inflammatory response – this continues over time and the effects are numerous. Some include headaches, dizziness, difficult concentration, and eyesight irregularity. Depending on the person, more intense symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, brain swelling mood changes and many other symptoms.

There are 3 major types of closed head injuries: epidural hematoma, subdural hematoma (both are ‘bleeding brain’), and concussion. A fourth type, intracerebral hemorrhage, is the same as a hemorrhagic stroke which usually occurs in the aging population.

Closed head injuries and anti-brain antibodies are also associated with:

• Addiction (including drug or alcohol as in chemical concussions),
• Dementia,
• Alzheimer’s,
• Schizophrenia (earliest diagnosed mental illness),
• OCD (basal ganglia and hypothalamus),
• Epilepsy,
• Learning disabilities,
• Down’s Syndrome, and all
• Neurological Issues (including MS and Myasthenia Gravis)

In my practice, I have noticed that the most common symptoms for kids are headaches, sensitivity to light, and difficulty concentrating. I see a lot of kids with repeated head injuries from sports-collisions, to high-speed balls traveling in space, to falling due to fainting. Parents, always listen to your child’s symptoms regarding head injuries. It is important for them to get looked at by someone who is familiar with head injuries. Lack of concentration especially where there was no problem before is important to take note.

Screen time is an absolute NO with head injuries. Wear dark glasses when it is sunny and limit exercise. The brain and body need rest in order to heal. We also use a very specific brain injury protocol that feeds the brain and quiets the inflammatory response. Diet is always important especially with the blood-brain barrier and food sensitivities which can create more inflammation.

The inflammatory response can last for years, so it is very important to take care of the injured. Lack of concentration for many is the longest lingering effect. The good news is that the brain is plastic. We know now that with proper tending, nutrition, and supplementation it can heal. Nutritional support is a primary adjunct as well as cranial sacral therapy and light therapy.

For more information on how to treat head injuries, please give us a jingle.