Lisa McHale, director of family relations for the Concussion Legacy Foundation, works as a liaison with families who donate brain tissue samples to Boston University. Here, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, often caused by repetitive trauma to the brain, is studied. Her husband, NFL player Tom McHale, was diagnosed with CTE after his death. This discovery explained the years of progressively puzzling behavior leading up to his death. She believes that children should not be allowed to play football and that there should be programs to counsel young people about the potential risks involved and how to avoid them.
It is difficult to treat TBI. There are cognitive therapies available, along with other rehabilitation approaches and medication, but for some like Beck, they find that meditation, eating only organic foods while avoiding meats with hormones or antibiotics, and taking a combination of 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C along with 1,000 milligrams of fish oil a day, may help alleviate the symptoms. While little has been understood about the specific nature of TBI until now, great strides in neuroscience are being made every day, and with greater scrutiny of the disorder and the people at risk, help may soon be on the way.
Therapies To Combat TBI
A number of therapies have been developed over the past years to help combat the effects of TBI.
Gaming and virtual reality-based treatment methods are emerging as an adjunct to physical therapy, an innovative approach noted for helping improve gait, posture, and eye focus.
Tests conducted at Harvard-affiliated Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston showed the benefits of natural remedies. Specifically, during the study the researchers used:
- Arnica (mountain daisy): To “significantly reduce swelling, pain, and complications from a head injury.”
- Belladonna (deadly nightshade): For when a patient with TBI is distressed and lashing out.
- Hypericum (St. John’s Wort) or Cicuta (water hemlock): To lessen shooting pains or seizures after a head injury or spinal cord injury.
- Natrum Sulphuricum (sodium sulphate): To reduce depression, irritability, and confusion.
- Hellebores (white hellebore): To increase mental sharpness.
The study demonstrated that these remedies should show an effect in 48 hours, and if they don’t, try something else. The National Institutes of Health recommends omega-3 fatty acids, and the Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism says that turmeric and ginkgo biloba help reduce inflammation in the brain and improve circulation. Acupuncture and massages, by good therapists, are also beneficial.
The Veterans Health Administration encourages the use of meditation. The Real Warriors Campaign launched by the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury advise:
- Get plenty of rest.
- Increase activity slowly.
- Carry a notebook — write things down if you have trouble remembering.
- Establish a daily routine.
- Do only one thing at a time if you are easily distracted.
- Check with someone you trust when making decisions.
- Avoid activities that could lead to another brain injury, for example, contact sports, motorcycle riding, and skiing.
- Avoid alcohol because it may slow healing. Avoid caffeine or “energy-enhancing” products because they may increase symptoms.
- Avoid pseudoephedrine — check the labels on cough, cold, and allergy medicines.
- Avoid excessive use of over-the-counter sleeping aids, because they slow thinking and memory.
Additionally, you can find resources near you at the Brain Injury Association of America.
This article is updated from its initial publication in Brain World Magazine’s print edition.
More From Brain World
- Caring for Our Veterans: The Wounded Warrior Project
- Oops, Don’t Fall! Reducing the Risk of Childhood Brain Injury
- If You Catch World Cup Fever, Here’s How to Prevent Injuries
- The Power of Green
- Thinking Inside the Box: Imaging Technology Offers New Insights into Traumatic Brain Injury
- Recovery is a State of Mind: An Interview with Dr. Yehuda Ben-Yishay
