Post-Concussion Syndrome Helped by Chiropractic

Published in the October 2021 issue of the Asian-Pacific Chiropractic Journal were the results of a case study documenting the resolution of a young woman's symptoms from post-concussion syndrome related to a sports injury.

The study begins by reporting that traumatic brain injuries are very common in the U.S. with 1.7 million occurring each year. Of that total, 52,000 die and 275,000 are hospitalized. Of the total number of head injuries, it is estimated that over 300,000 of them annually are sports related.

In 2012, the International Conference on Concussion in Sport created a definition for concussion. "Concussion is a brain injury and is defined as a complex pathophysiological process affecting the brain, induced by biomechanical forces." The conference listed several common features of concussion. "Concussion may be caused either by a direct blow to the head, face, neck or elsewhere on the body with an ‘impulsive' force transmitted to the head. Concussion typically results in the rapid onset of short-lived impairment of neurological function that resolves spontaneously. However, in some cases, symptoms and signs may evolve over a number of minutes to hours."

In this case, a 21-year-old woman stood up abruptly and felt lightheaded causing her to fall forward into a desk hitting her head on the desk and then on the floor. She was knocked unconscious for a short period and awoke with severe head pain. She was transported to the hospital but was released without a CAT scan or an MRI.

Over the next several months, the woman began to feel light-headed and dizzy when she exercised. These symptoms progressively got worse until she was unable to exercise at all. She also started to develop headaches that were made worse by her school studies or even just using a phone. She progressively got worse to where driving was an issue, and she was forced to sharply reduce almost all physical and mental activities. Her cognitive problems got so bad that she was forced to discontinue school.

A chiropractic examination was performed and based upon the results of that examination specific forms of chiropractic care were started.

The study reports that in little over one month of care, the woman "was completely pain free with no symptoms of lightheadedness, brain fog, or nausea. She has been able to exercise, and has been lifting light weights. She was also able to run five miles." The woman's significant improvement was in light of the fact that she was nearly non-functional for the previous six months.