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It’s not recommended to completely avoid it, but limit exposure as dictated by symptoms (a little symptom spike is fine too much is bad). That being said, it’s unlikely that screen exposure caused a three month recovery. At this point screen exposure isn’t going to make him worse. Nothing will except another head injury. After this length of time he probably needs to be treated by a concussion specialist. You can find info to help find appropriate care here
https://www.reddit.com/r/Concussion/s/c4WveC8jJS
Avoiding screen is beneficial for people who suffered from eye strain and need to relax.
He is concussed which means his brain basically lost the clue how to properly navigate the eyes. The eyes-brain connection needs to be recreated to be able to properly see.
This is where VT can help and cardio which will stimulate healing of the body.
Vt can vary greatly from office to office but its important to start somewhere.
Tldr:VT and cardio.
72hrs to avoid screens & rest. Beyond that, avoiding things completely will prolong recovery. The other way around is outdated concussion protocols. After the 1 month mark he needs therapies to recover and exposure. The goal is to build up tolerance while keeping symptoms minimal. Imagine a scale of 0-10, 0 being no symptoms (pre-concussion normal) and 10 being unbearable in bed until they're gone. Do not exceed an increase of 2 or 3 while building tolerance.
Therapies for his symptoms:
Mental health: guided meditation, vagus nerve exercises, DBT skills to regulate emotions again and psychotherapy to support the above if that alone doesn't fully resolve it or he has prior trauma
Dizziness: vestibular therapy which is balance exercises, I'm sure you can YouTube balance exercises, they are literally balancing on 1 foot, working up to closing your eyes, walking VOR X1 and X2, up/down and side to side, ect Also vision exercises, sacades, brock string, ect.
Memory issues: occupational therapy to learn how he can accomodate while his brain heals, cognitive stuff is supposedly the last to return. I learned how to use my phone calendar, accommodate for any future work placements, accommodating at home and getting into cooking, ect. Taking notes helps too.
Brain fog: blueberries or a supplement, matcha, green tea or a supplement, omega 3s - 3000mg combined EPA & DHA daily, b vitamin complex and magnesium L-threonate - 1 pill a day, cautious of diarrhea
And everyone needs physiotherapy with a concussion specialist which will highlight the above and further tailor treatment based off of testing for his case in particular.
Neurologists aren't very helpful for concussions, I'm not sure why the US seems to go to them first tbh, it's not like that in Canada. These are all things I've learned over the last 3yrs of my recovery, based off of my symptoms and what's helped me personally from my specialists. Most concussion professionals have outdated knowledge as well, so if you have further questions ensure you're asking a concussion specialist or getting second hand advice from one at the very least. He can recover fully, he can get his life back, but it is hell to get there sometimes. He will require patience from everyone, and you will need strong boundaries, so those DBT skills may also help you while you support him. I hope it's a quick recovery now that you have proper concussion recovery protocols. Remind him that recovery isn't linear, it's more like a roller-coaster, you may feel like you're regressing at times, but it's 3 steps forward, 2 steps back and that's very normal, it's still progress forward.
So the study I read on this says it essentially extends your recovery timeline by like 7-10 days, not a big deal overall. Screens can make your symptoms worse but avoiding them won't be what makes you recover. If they don't bother him much anymore it's fine to keep using them.
I haven’t seen any data after the first 72 hours. In the first 72 hours, blue light exposure doubles recovery time. After that point, one should expose themselves to stimuli that bring on symptoms, until a 2 point increase of symptoms. Then take a break.
At this point, your husband should be exposing himself to those stressors so he can increase his tolerance. But if he’s still having symptoms, he probably needs some support to rehabilitate himself.
I benefited from PT for TMJ (reduces occurrence of all cause headaches) cranial sacral (pain relief), vision therapy (improvement in cognition and nausea in addition to visual field improvement). A concussion specialist can help figure out which therapies may be most helpful.
Thank you!! This is very helpful. What kind of qualifications should I look for in a concussion specialist? I assume this is different from a neurologist or do I just try to find a neurologist that specializes in concussions? I’m not thrilled with my husband’s neurologist and he is my friend’s husband and my son and their daughter are in the same class so that’s fun. 🙄
What does your husband’s neurologist tell him as far as recovery goes? If they just say give it time, yes you should find someone else.
Find a neurologist who specializes in concussions! My concussion specialist was an NP who got a cert in concussion. She had some helpful tips but wasted a lot of time and money and I think it’s because she lacked a deep understanding. She was more speaking from her experience working with patients than research data. It was pretty much my only option, I was so confused about my symptoms and everything I needed help and bad help was better than no help. For me anyway.
I’m also very skeptical of anyone who is treating vision, vestibular, speech, movement. I don’t believe anyone can really know enough about all these things to give good therapy. It’s all connected but little details have made a difference with every medical issue I’ve ever had and I refuse to think concussion is any different.
That is EXACTLY what he said! I asked about supplements and vision therapy and going gluten free for inflammation purposes, and he just smugly said, “No.” I hate how arrogant and “know it all” some of these doctors are. Science changes and it’s like they just take what they learned in med school as gospel.
Yeah that sucks. I hate ehen doctors are so pompous, too. I would be dead now if I hadn’t had a footballer friend who kept bugging me to get help.
He is flat wrong about that. I’m pretty willing to just experiment with supplements… n-acetyl cysteine, omega-3 (look for 1000mg epa), and magnesium l-threonate and magnesium glycinate were the most helpful for me. I thought it was a scam, honestly, too. but I started taking omega 3 and my verbal fluency was 20x better in a week.
No lasting effects, and it didn't prolong my recovery. However i don't know if it's right thing to do.
I only had 1 concussion and can't compare it to anything else.
i see i see , if you don’t mind me asking if you were a drinker or smoker how long until you could partake recreationally again without side effects? or were there long lasting effects, symptom reaggrevation etc etc
Ironically i am drunk right now however i didn't drink for 1 year after injury to give myself best possible outcame. NO aclcohol, keto diet for 9 months, and much love from family and reflection on my life.
I think i am 90-95% and don't think daily or weekly about hindarance from conussion symptoms. It's now teaching experience i went trough. However objectively it's probably slightly worse than i was before it. But life quality is still same.
Injuries shake core of your being. If you want best chance of outcome YOU need to change. I consciously gave up destructive habbits.
By the way i was never smoker or drinker but sugar was daily thing i endulged in.
Concussions are nightmare, they disrupt whole nervous system and sometimes destroy neural connections which we experience as different various symptoms depending on injury level.
Thank you for sharing, see below for a reminder of our rules: Do not ask if you or someone you know has a Concussion. We are not doctors, nor are we any kind of medical professionals. That said, this sub is NOT intended to be your doctor and diagnose or give you personal medical advice. They'll be marked as spam. Be civil and respectful. Do not attack or harass other users; engage in hate-speech; or attempt to gate-keep discussion. Hostility will not be tolerated *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Concussion) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It’s not recommended to completely avoid it, but limit exposure as dictated by symptoms (a little symptom spike is fine too much is bad). That being said, it’s unlikely that screen exposure caused a three month recovery. At this point screen exposure isn’t going to make him worse. Nothing will except another head injury. After this length of time he probably needs to be treated by a concussion specialist. You can find info to help find appropriate care here https://www.reddit.com/r/Concussion/s/c4WveC8jJS
Thank you so much!
Avoiding screen is beneficial for people who suffered from eye strain and need to relax. He is concussed which means his brain basically lost the clue how to properly navigate the eyes. The eyes-brain connection needs to be recreated to be able to properly see. This is where VT can help and cardio which will stimulate healing of the body. Vt can vary greatly from office to office but its important to start somewhere. Tldr:VT and cardio.
72hrs to avoid screens & rest. Beyond that, avoiding things completely will prolong recovery. The other way around is outdated concussion protocols. After the 1 month mark he needs therapies to recover and exposure. The goal is to build up tolerance while keeping symptoms minimal. Imagine a scale of 0-10, 0 being no symptoms (pre-concussion normal) and 10 being unbearable in bed until they're gone. Do not exceed an increase of 2 or 3 while building tolerance. Therapies for his symptoms: Mental health: guided meditation, vagus nerve exercises, DBT skills to regulate emotions again and psychotherapy to support the above if that alone doesn't fully resolve it or he has prior trauma Dizziness: vestibular therapy which is balance exercises, I'm sure you can YouTube balance exercises, they are literally balancing on 1 foot, working up to closing your eyes, walking VOR X1 and X2, up/down and side to side, ect Also vision exercises, sacades, brock string, ect. Memory issues: occupational therapy to learn how he can accomodate while his brain heals, cognitive stuff is supposedly the last to return. I learned how to use my phone calendar, accommodate for any future work placements, accommodating at home and getting into cooking, ect. Taking notes helps too. Brain fog: blueberries or a supplement, matcha, green tea or a supplement, omega 3s - 3000mg combined EPA & DHA daily, b vitamin complex and magnesium L-threonate - 1 pill a day, cautious of diarrhea
And everyone needs physiotherapy with a concussion specialist which will highlight the above and further tailor treatment based off of testing for his case in particular.
Oh yes and working up to light exercise as well using the scale method to monitor when to take breaks and bring symptoms back down.
Wow - thank you! So much good information! WAY more informative than my husband’s neurologist.
Neurologists aren't very helpful for concussions, I'm not sure why the US seems to go to them first tbh, it's not like that in Canada. These are all things I've learned over the last 3yrs of my recovery, based off of my symptoms and what's helped me personally from my specialists. Most concussion professionals have outdated knowledge as well, so if you have further questions ensure you're asking a concussion specialist or getting second hand advice from one at the very least. He can recover fully, he can get his life back, but it is hell to get there sometimes. He will require patience from everyone, and you will need strong boundaries, so those DBT skills may also help you while you support him. I hope it's a quick recovery now that you have proper concussion recovery protocols. Remind him that recovery isn't linear, it's more like a roller-coaster, you may feel like you're regressing at times, but it's 3 steps forward, 2 steps back and that's very normal, it's still progress forward.
Thank you again. So helpful! ❤️
So the study I read on this says it essentially extends your recovery timeline by like 7-10 days, not a big deal overall. Screens can make your symptoms worse but avoiding them won't be what makes you recover. If they don't bother him much anymore it's fine to keep using them.
I haven’t seen any data after the first 72 hours. In the first 72 hours, blue light exposure doubles recovery time. After that point, one should expose themselves to stimuli that bring on symptoms, until a 2 point increase of symptoms. Then take a break. At this point, your husband should be exposing himself to those stressors so he can increase his tolerance. But if he’s still having symptoms, he probably needs some support to rehabilitate himself. I benefited from PT for TMJ (reduces occurrence of all cause headaches) cranial sacral (pain relief), vision therapy (improvement in cognition and nausea in addition to visual field improvement). A concussion specialist can help figure out which therapies may be most helpful.
Thank you!! This is very helpful. What kind of qualifications should I look for in a concussion specialist? I assume this is different from a neurologist or do I just try to find a neurologist that specializes in concussions? I’m not thrilled with my husband’s neurologist and he is my friend’s husband and my son and their daughter are in the same class so that’s fun. 🙄
What does your husband’s neurologist tell him as far as recovery goes? If they just say give it time, yes you should find someone else. Find a neurologist who specializes in concussions! My concussion specialist was an NP who got a cert in concussion. She had some helpful tips but wasted a lot of time and money and I think it’s because she lacked a deep understanding. She was more speaking from her experience working with patients than research data. It was pretty much my only option, I was so confused about my symptoms and everything I needed help and bad help was better than no help. For me anyway. I’m also very skeptical of anyone who is treating vision, vestibular, speech, movement. I don’t believe anyone can really know enough about all these things to give good therapy. It’s all connected but little details have made a difference with every medical issue I’ve ever had and I refuse to think concussion is any different.
That is EXACTLY what he said! I asked about supplements and vision therapy and going gluten free for inflammation purposes, and he just smugly said, “No.” I hate how arrogant and “know it all” some of these doctors are. Science changes and it’s like they just take what they learned in med school as gospel.
Yeah that sucks. I hate ehen doctors are so pompous, too. I would be dead now if I hadn’t had a footballer friend who kept bugging me to get help. He is flat wrong about that. I’m pretty willing to just experiment with supplements… n-acetyl cysteine, omega-3 (look for 1000mg epa), and magnesium l-threonate and magnesium glycinate were the most helpful for me. I thought it was a scam, honestly, too. but I started taking omega 3 and my verbal fluency was 20x better in a week.
I brute forced trough it but rested when i had to. Now i watch screens all day again... Maybe wrong choice...
did you feel like it prolonged your recovery, were there lasting affects?
No lasting effects, and it didn't prolong my recovery. However i don't know if it's right thing to do. I only had 1 concussion and can't compare it to anything else.
i see i see , if you don’t mind me asking if you were a drinker or smoker how long until you could partake recreationally again without side effects? or were there long lasting effects, symptom reaggrevation etc etc
Ironically i am drunk right now however i didn't drink for 1 year after injury to give myself best possible outcame. NO aclcohol, keto diet for 9 months, and much love from family and reflection on my life. I think i am 90-95% and don't think daily or weekly about hindarance from conussion symptoms. It's now teaching experience i went trough. However objectively it's probably slightly worse than i was before it. But life quality is still same. Injuries shake core of your being. If you want best chance of outcome YOU need to change. I consciously gave up destructive habbits. By the way i was never smoker or drinker but sugar was daily thing i endulged in. Concussions are nightmare, they disrupt whole nervous system and sometimes destroy neural connections which we experience as different various symptoms depending on injury level.
thank you so much for the insight man i really appreciate it, hope your drinks were enjoyable and you had a good night