Head Injury

Mild traumatic brain injuries

There are approximately 325,000 new cases of mild traumatic brain injuries per year in the United States. Many cases are unidentified or misdiagnosed. The patients usually present, often several weeks after the date of injury, in the office of a physician or psychologist with complaints of headache, agitation or rage, depression, poor concentration, and difficulty with higher order thinking skills. These patients also tend to have poor organizational skills and report a feeling of dissociation. 

Contrary to popular belief, individuals do not need to strike their heads, have loss of consciousness, have a skull fracture, skin tear, or bleeding, in order to sustain a mild to moderate traumatic brain injury. While these situations can occur during the accident and contribute to the process of a brain injury, they are not the sole criteria utilized in determining whether or not an individual has had a brain injury. Other criteria include: any loss of memory for events immediately before or after an accident, loss of consciousness less than thirty minutes, or any alteration in mental state at the time of the accident, such as disorientation, confusion, being dazed, or speech problems. 

Unfortunately, MRI, CT and x-ray will usually not reveal mild traumatic brain injury. The post-concussed patient frequently presents as neurologically intact during a traditional medical examination. 

To date, most research suggests that 80 percent of patients diagnosed with a mild traumatic brain injury experience resolution of all their symptoms within six to eighteen months. However, symptoms of head trauma can resurface later in life, so slowly that few ever attribute the symptoms to the earlier injury. 

Sometimes these symptoms interfere with an individual's occupational activity. Deficits can surface in impaired or slowed cognitive processing resulting in poor judgement, poor executive function, increased irritability, and disorganized planning skills in the work environment.  For more information, I recommend the book, "Coping with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury" by Diane Roberts Stoler, EdD and Barbara Albers Hill (1998).

Traumatic Head Injury

Injuries involving the head are among the most common in our society. Each year in America, one million people are seen by medical doctors due to a blow to the head. Of that number, 50,000 to 100,000 have prolonged and disabling problems that will affect their ability to work and/or affect their daily lives. 

The physical effects of head injuries include such symptoms as seizures, loss of motor speed and coordination and the presence of abnormal movement such as tremors and spasticity. Cognitive changes involve disorders of attention, concentration and memory, problems with understanding or producing speech, difficulties with initiating and planning daily activities, and poor reasoning and judgement. The behavioral effects include agitation and irritability, verbal and physical aggressiveness, impulsivity, depression and suicidal thoughts, and an egocentric or self-centered orientation in interpersonal relationships. 

For an excellent online book on head injury, I recommend you download "Traumatic Brain Injury Survival Guide" by Dr. Glen Johnson. 

After your primary treating physician has determined that you have had a head injury, neurofeedback may be able to help to alleviate many of the symptoms.   You will need a referral directly from your physician before sessions may begin.  This office will discuss your progress and treatment plan with your physician.