The Response of Modern Medicine
After doing an MRI to rule out the existence of a hematoma, modern medical practitioners usually try a number of different approaches to deal with the headache and pain involved in post-concussion syndrome. Medications are the typical approach, and would include analgesics, muscle relaxants and non-steroidal anti-inflammatories. Antidepressants may also be prescribed to improve insomnia, irritability and/or anxiety.
The problem with this approach is that it does nothing to get at the root of the problem and ultimately does not alleviate the chronic pain that people with this condition experience. In addition, long-term use of these drugs can lead to other problems. For example, although anti-inflammatory drugs have been shown to produce short-term pain benefit, they result in long-term loss of function and even more chronic pain by actually inhibiting the healing process of soft tissues, which may have been damaged during the concussion and could be responsible for chronic pain. Plus, long-term use of these drugs can lead to other sources of chronic pain, allergies and leaky gut syndrome.
Pain control may also be approached using nerve blocks or transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), which involves the electrical stimulation of muscle groups. Again, although either one of these might provide temporary pain relief, they usually do not address the root cause of chronic pain associated with post-concussion syndrome.
The Natural Medicine Approach to Post-Concussion Syndrome
As with any natural medicine approach to a chronically painful condition, the first step in treating post-concussion syndrome is to identify the cause, taking into account the structures that may have been injured as a result of the jarring motion of the head. It's quite possible that the cause of the chronic pain may be due to injured neck ligaments, similar to Barré-Lieou syndrome. If this is the case, treatment would involve correcting the alignment of the vertebrae in the neck posteriorly, or back, so they no longer pinch the sympathetic nerves. This can be accomplished with Prolotherapy treatments, which promote the healing of the ligament weakness in the neck.
However, the natural medicine approach goes even further, and takes into account other injuries that made have occurred in the head as a result of the concussion. For example, the concussion could have affected the pituitary and the hypothalamus glands to the degree that their normal production of substances has been disrupted, adversely affecting the hormone levels in the body. Optimal hormone levels are needed for proper healing and immune functioning.
For example, the body often does not secrete enough of the anti-diuretic hormone vasopressin after a concussion. Symptoms of this would include frequent urination to the point of disrupting sleep, as well as excessive thirst, with the result of dehydration. If this turned out to be the case, diabetes insipidus would be diagnosed. In fact, natural medicine doctors seem to discover this condition among post-concussion syndrome patients much more frequently than do modern medical doctors. Structures in the body such as discs and cartilage in the joints are very sensitive to water, and dehydration as a result of hormonal imbalances may results in chronic pain. In this case, natural hormone therapy, supplements and dietary changes are often all that the body needs to heal itself. However, if the pain persists, the ligaments around the joints and discs of the neck may have been damaged by the concussion, and Prolotherapy treatments may be needed in the area as well.
Prolotherapy offers the most curative results in treating chronic pain due to tendon and ligament weakness or cartilage deterioration. It effectively eliminates pain because it attacks the source: the fibro-osseous junction, an area rich in sensory nerves. In simple terms, Prolotherapy stimulates the body to repair painful areas by inducing a mild inflammatory reaction in the weakened ligaments, tendons and cartilage. What’s more, the tissue strengthening and pain relief stimulated by Prolotherapy is permanent!
Prolotherapy research on Neck Pain:
Click here to read Prolotherapy research by Dr. Ross Hauser and his team on Prolotherapy injections for neck pain.
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Caring Medical is a full time Prolotherapy doctor’s office. We have successfully treated all of the conditions we write about. This is why patients travel from across the country and internationally to be treated by our Prolotherapy physician Dr. Ross Hauser. The difference is in the care, technique, and experience you get with Dr. Hauser and team at Caring Medical.
