Concussion...Interactive Metronome Training Can Help the Lingering Effects!

Your brain is protected by a layer of fluid that cushions your brain keeps it from bumping into your skull. However, when you have a concussion, the brain moves enough to make contact with the skull and cause swelling. Like any brain injury, concussions lead to a host of symptoms that can include nausea, anxiety, headache, light sensitivity, dizziness and lethargy, just to name a few. And like any brain injury, they are serious business. Many people view concussions as mild. Bad idea! Sure, everyone knows not to go to sleep right after a concussion, but have you ever really wondered why? It is because concussions can potentially be fatal.

You don’t have to be a superstar athlete to worry about concussions. These on field warriors often play through the trauma; unfortunately, recent tragic events surrounding the NFL have highlighted the damage caused by untreated concussions. But everyday warriors get concussions too. You can be a firefighter saving a life, a construction worker building the future or a parent taking their kids to school; concussions don’t care. Many who suffer concussions are unaware of the extent of the trauma, often ignoring the serious signs in hopes that it passes with time.

Most people think concussions just lead to a headache and a few days of disorientation, light sensitivity or “brain fogs”; however, concussions can lead to months or years of pain, cognitive deficits and emotional changes if left untreated. Additionally, potentially fatal conditions like post-concussion syndrome (PCS), chronic encephalophathy and dementia pugilistica also highlight the lingering effects of concussions on the brain.

Julie experienced PCS after a relatively minor blow to the head. As a school principal, she was injured on a bounce castle at a local high school event. Unfortunately, her headache turned to migraines, lost words and memory problems. After using Interactive Metronome, Julie is back on the job, but more importantly, she is back to a quality life.

Timing in the brain, or Neurotiming, is critical to attention, gait, memory, bilateral coordination and cognitive function. That is because timing is a domain-general mechanism. The domain-general mechanism of timing is a “jack of all trades” mechanism that manifests itself in sleep cycles, speech patterns, ability to attend over time and overall efficacy of brain communication. Neurotiming has been shown to be deficient after the effects of many brain injuries.

As Dr. Lonnie Nelson said during his presentation on the DVBIC study* results:

"White matter connections are long bundles of axons that connect different cortical (gray matter) operators, where basic calculations take place. The loss of white matter connections (which happens in blast injury) is what keeps areas of the cortex from being able to share information across domains. This results in inefficient processing, slowed speed of processing, and problems with sensory integration. Repair of these white matter connections is likely what accounts for the improvements in cognition that we observed after Interactive Metronome."

* Nelson, L. A., MacDonald, M., Stall, C., & Pazdan, R. (2013, September 23). Effects of Interactive Metronome Therapy on Cognitive Functioning After Blast-Related Brain Injury: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial. Neuropsychology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/a0034117

It doesn’t just have to be a blast injury; any head injury causes severe trauma to the brain’s white matter connections. Interactive Metronome is the only training program that improves timing in the brain in an organized, systematic, flexible and engaging format. Research shows that combining whole body movements with cognitive tasks leads to overall better outcomes. Interactive Metronome® is a patented and unique training tool that challenges thinking and movement simultaneously, providing real-time millisecond feedback to help synchronize the body’s “internal clock.”

It is time to take action if you or a loved one has a concussion. Waiting for the symptoms to pass can lead to more damage and may exacerbate the lingering effects. Now, you can address the symptoms of a concussion in the comfort of your own home. No more worrying about fitting training into your schedule. With IM-Home, you can complete your training under the supervision of your Provider, but in the comfort of your own living room, bedroom, office, etc. Ask your Provider about IM-Home today!

Contact LifeFit BrainFit at 906-774-5833, to get your life back!