Sports-Related Concussion Helped with Chiropractic

The October 2021 issue of the Asian-Pacific Chiropractic Journal published a case study involving a teen who suffered a concussion during a volleyball game, who was helped by chiropractic after all else had failed. According to a 2015 study in PT in Motion News, concussions are becoming more common among volleyball players who are suffering concussions at the rate of 3.57 concussions per 10,000 exposures, with an exposure being each practice or match.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines concussion by saying, "A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury—or TBI—caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or by a hit to the body that causes the head and brain to move rapidly back and forth. This sudden movement can cause the brain to bounce around or twist in the skull, creating chemical changes in the brain and sometimes stretching and damaging brain cells."

In this case, a 14-year-old girl was brought into the chiropractor four months after being struck in the head by a volleyball. At the time of her chiropractic visit, the girl was suffering with headaches and nausea which she had been having since the volleyball incident.

The incident took place at a volleyball tournament that was 400 miles from the girl's home. The girl was stuck in the front of her head, and she immediately lost vision, was nauseated and dizzy, and felt head pain. Her memory was affected as she remembers her coach standing in front of her, but not much else. Most of the account of the injury was from her coach and other players as she does not have a memory of the injury or immediate time afterward.

The accounts reported in the study were from other individuals as the girl has no memory of these incidents. "The patient served the volleyball one more time, then sat out the rest of the game. She left the court, drank water, and used a cold compress over her eyes. The bright lights and noise in the gym were bothersome and caused her headache to worsen. She went out for pizza that night with the team. She took children's liquid Tylenol (acetaminophen) and slept 9 hours. She attempted play the next morning but was again overcome by nausea and dizziness, as well as a worsening headache, when she returned to the gym. She was driven home later that day and slept in the backseat for the 7-hour drive. The nausea, dizziness and headache persisted for the entire ride home."

The girl attempted to return to school multiple times but was unable to do so and had to return home each time. Her visits to an MD and referrals to specialist only led to a recommendation to take acetaminophen and continue to rest. She received no improvement from the medical attention or the acetaminophen.

The girl got a chiropractic examination and began specific forms of chiropractic care. The study records that the day following her first visit to the chiropractor, she was able to return to school for a full day. After her second visit, she reported her head pain was gone and she had less dizziness. Also, after her second chiropractic visit, she had a midterm exam at school where she scored a 90%. On a 5 month follow up, the study reports that the girl was completely symptom free.

In their discussion, the authors of the study highlight the fact that the girl had not been helped at all medically prior to starting chiropractic. "With the 14-year-old female patient in this case, the temporal nature of her symptoms from the time of the trauma is consistent with her having suffered a post-concussion syndrome with associated brain trauma. Of significance was that her symptoms had not changed for four months, until receiving her first chiropractic treatment."