The Premier Integrative Applied Neurology and Therapeutic Laser Center of Arizona

What I wish I knew

What I Wish I Knew Before My Child’s Concussion

The story referenced here is from the point of view of a mother whose child sustained a concussion. She discusses how her daughter was injured, the symptoms she experienced, how long things lasted, and what she wishes she had known BEFORE her daughter ever suffered a concussion.

 

Key Takeaway Points

  • Support the brain nutritionally
    • Omega3 (especially DHA)
    • Natural anti-inflammatories (curcumen/turmeric/resveratrol)
    • Glutathione support
    • Vitamin D (emulsified in fat)

Contact our office to order yours!

 


 

Her daughter was accidentally elbowed in the nose. She began experiencing headaches that doctors thought came along with hitting her nose, but continued even after the nose had healed.

She wasn’t involved in a sports injury or a car accident the way many people get concussions. She wasn’t even chemically concussed or re-concussed from chemicals (like food sensitivities or alcohol) due to bad immune systems, poor detoxification systems or even intestinal permeability creating chronic brain inflammation, but that’s a different story for another post (visit here for the story).

The mother went on to say that nobody seemed to truly fully understand the entire cascade of events that occurs with brain injury and concussion,

Let’s take a minute to touch on the major injury cascades that occur in concussion.

In concussion, you have multiple mechanism occurring simultaneously, just as she mentioned above.

The processes are initial injury, in this case an impact to the nose, vascular swelling occurs locally, vascular dilation/constriction, sympathetic activation occurs (scared from getting hit in the nose) immune system mobilization to the site of injury (nose) and in cases of concussion you have inflammation that occurs in the brain.

Microglial cells are responsible for the inflammation in the brain which is normal to some extent after a concussion but should recover within 1-4 weeks, depending on the severity of the concussion, the health of the brain prior to a concussion, the level of microglial cell activation prior to the head injury, the number of concussions the person has had in their lifetime, and how recent the last concussion was.

One thing that often occurs in concussions is microglial cell ramification or to put in layman’s terms, is chronic brain inflammation. The key symptoms in determining brain inflammation is “brain fog”. If you have brain fog, there’s a very high likelihood that you’re still dealing with brain inflammation, microglial cell ramification, immune system activation in the brain, and are at a very high risk for developing near-permanent symptoms if this inflammation isn’t dealt with accordingly.

Brain inflammation can cause headaches, nausea, balance issues, vision issues, pain, insomnia and can lead to breakdown of the gut and chronic issues like autoimmunity. The last thing you’ll ever want is an autoimmunity to your brain tissue, where your immune system attacks your own brain cells.

The best way to promote healing in these cases to use an integrated approach and dampen brain inflammation, support GI function, support the adrenals and sex hormones to improve sleep, and specific neurological rehabilitation for injured pathways that are found after a comprehensive neurological (and structural) evaluation.

Without an integrated approach, you’re bound to jump from doctor to doctor being prescribed medications that are just band-aids, when what you really need is a an office to take a comprehensive look at your brain and body, determine what you need to get you better, and address all the aspects that need support. We are that office.

 

Article review courtesy of Huffington Post

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Janine Crifasi, DC, CCST

Dr. Janine Crifasi, our newest team member at AZ Chiropractic Neurology, is originally from New York – which explains the accent. She attended Life Chiropractic College West and was the Centennial class’s Most Outstanding Graduate. She practiced in the Bay Area until moving closer to family to raise her son who is attending college.

Dr. Janine is committed to learning and educating people to change their awareness about their bodies’ potential and empowering them with unique methods of retraining their brains to maximize their quality of life through neuroplasticity. Her passion to help others puts her patients at ease and makes her a highly sought-after community speaker. Prior to coming to Chandler, she owned a center specializing in kids with learning disabilities and served as the northeast clinical director of a functional neurology practice, overseeing several functional neurology clinics. 

She has completed her post-doctoral clinical neuroscience studies in Functional Neurology through the Carrick Institute for Graduate Studies and has successfully completed the clinical exam and is now board eligible for the written portion. She is a Board Certified Doctor of Chiropractic for over 26 years. She has received additional extensive training in Spinal Trauma, and the Activator Method, and has a certification in Postural Neurology. 

In an effort to better serve her patients, Dr. Crifasi completed postdoctoral specialty training in blood chemistry, thyroid chemistry, brain chemistry, neuro-immune, and neuro-endocrine functional medicine. This knowledge of the brain-gut axis, and the mechanisms that impact our health, allow her to provide patients with easily implemented modifications enhancing improved lifestyle and nutraceutical recommendations as needed.