If you have suffered a concussion, odds are you have experienced dizziness and balance issues. In fact, after headaches, balance and dizziness issues are the most reported symptoms of a concussion. You might feel a bit out of balance while standing or walking. These balance issues can make daily life at home or work difficult. But more than just being uncomfortable side-effects of a traumatic brain injury, a change in ability to balance oneself can be essential in determining the extent of an injury, and the treatment to be followed.
Broadview Health Centre uses Computerized Posturography as a diagnostic tool to help determine the best possible treatment for your injuries. Computerized Posturography is just one of the many innovative ways Broadview Health Centre can help you get your brain health back on track after an injury.
TREATMENTS FOR CONCUSSIONS
Vision Therapy
Vestibular Rehabilitation
Transcranial Vagus Nerve Stimulation
Eye Exercises
Somatosensory Evoked Potential
Ear Insufflation
Non-surgical Decompression Therapy
Non-surgical decompression therapy can resolve head and neck pain
Non-surgical Decompression Therapy
Nutritional Recommendations
Auditory Therapy
Laser Guided Proprioceptive Feedback
How Does Concussion Balance Testing Work?
Because of the link between concussions and balance, Broadview Health Centre uses innovative Computerized Posturography to determine the extent of your concussion or traumatic brain injury (TBI). Computerized Posturography is a form of concussion balance testing that measures a patient’s ability to stand upright on flat or uneven surfaces. With the help of high-tech sensors, a computer evaluates a patient’s balance while standing, moving, and turning the head in various directions. The output is a graph and report, interpreted by our concussion experts to determine your treatment plan.
With the help of computerized posturography, the amount of sway, its direction, as well as speed can be read. This information helps direct the type of care for a concussion, and helps provide a customized strategy for concussion management, tailored to your specific needs.
How do Concussions Impact Your Balance?
A Concussion or other form of TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) can have a serious impact on an individual’s ability to balance. But how?
The answer lies within the vestibular system – which is responsible for giving our brain information about balance, motion, head position, and spatial orientation. The vestibular system lies in the inner ear, and in very simple terms functions a bit like a gyroscope. A large impact to your head such as one suffered during a concussion or other form of TBI can throw off the functioning of your “gyroscope”, sending inaccurate information to your brain as it tries to stabilize. It is because of this inaccurate information that you often feel balance and dizziness after a concussion.
When the brain senses malfunctioning in the vestibular system, it relies on visual input to stabilize the head as well as balance. This over-reliance on the visual system is one of the main sources of fatigue, difficulty focusing, and performing daily activities after a concussion. To determine the extent of the damage suffered by your vestibular system, we use Computerized Posturography. Contact us to learn more about our concussion balance testing services!
Frequently asked questions
Broadview Health Centre offers specialized equipment and technology that helps us diagnose problems and treat them effectively in regards to concussions and other mild-traumatic brain injuries. These tools are a mix of physical tests and electrical monitors working in tandem to give evaluations of the body’s control over balance and motor control, giving us invaluable information on a patents condition by:
- Evaluating the body’s ability to balance on flat and uneven surfaces
- Balance when a patents head is turning in various directions
- Building information on how a concussion effects an individual
Sustaining a single concussion, in many cases, results in a straight-forward recovery with few complications. However, for those who have suffered multiple concussions, especially when the original has not fully healed, the recovery time can grow exponentially. Take care during recovery as while you might feel better, the concussion could still need time to fully heal.
- We utilize quantifiable concussion evaluation tools
- We measure eye movements and balance
- We take care to ensure your recovery is objective, not subjective
A major side effect from sustaining a concussion injury is cervicogenic pain or headaches, which is focused in the neck area. The challenge for doctors is neck pain does not always point to a problem within the neck, but could be a result of spine or eye misalignment.
- Concussions cause eye misalignment, leading to head tilt
- Neck pain is a flag for helping identify contributing issues
- Our treatment is built to help protect your long-term recovery
A common symptom for those who have suffered concussions and experiencing symptoms of post-concussion syndrome includes fatigue. Fatigue can come from many different factors. However, concussions build fatigue symptoms on a cellular level from the damage sustained in a concussion, interrupting your body’s ability to build and use energy.
- Fatigue from concussions is a result from calcium leaks
- Other fatigue could stem from problems with thyroids or anemia
- Fatigue problems can take some time to fully recover from
Post-concussion syndrome is a complex condition that requires a lot of care and time to fully recover from. You could experience significant fatigue, inability to effectively concentrate, headaches, poor balance, and loss of fine motor control. These and more are the result of concussion damage to three major areas in your body, which all require the care our clinic can provide:
- Physical damage the cell wall of the brain
- Damage to the motor systems of the eyes and balance
- Cervucigenic symptoms such as pain in the neck
Broadview Spine & Health Centre utilized state of the art diagnosis equipment to allow us to gain quality information on how to approach treatment to every patent’s unique symptoms. A Videonystagmography allows us to get a fine-tuned reading of eye movements on video and with graphical representation.
- Helps us identify where damage is located in the brain
- Helps develop a customized program for the patient
- Provides conclusive evidence for brain injury symptoms