New Discussions on Mitigating Concussions
New scientific research and medical strategies have been developed for post concussion treatment. These protocols can help reduce healing time and help alleviate many of the symptoms that riders with head injuries may experience. These newly developed strategies include: supplements, exercise, thermal treatment, and stimuli management.
As always, check with a medical professional regarding your personal treatment protocol, but these new observations in treating TBIs are very interesting:
Supplements
While many supplements have been studied to determine if they are effective post-concussion treatments, only Omega 3, Vitamin D PLUS creatine, N-acetylcysteine, and melatonin have been shown to improve post-concussion symptom scores thirty days post injury. Acetaminophen or ibuprofen can be taken for pain relief along with these supplements.
Exercise
New evidence has shown that early introduction of moderate to mild exercise, such as stationary bike or walking on the treadmill can have a positive impact. The concept behind this is that mild exercise will increase blood flow to the brain, the site of the injury. This will promote healing and repair of the damaged tissue and decrease overall recovery time. Physical therapy is also recommended, particular in those patients that have inner ear symptoms (dizziness or vertigo). This can include coordination and balance activities, visualization techniques, and cervical spine and vestibular rehabilitation.
Stimuli Management
Though strict stimuli limitation was recommended per previous guidelines, that is no longer the case. New research indicates that a gradual increase of regular activities as soon as twenty-four hours post-concussion is appropriate as long as the activity does not make the symptoms worse. Should external stimuli be irritating to the patient, ear plugs or noise-canceling headphones and sunglasses are recommended to reduce irritation.
Thermal Treatment
A 2022 study showed that immediate head and neck cooling reduced recovery time by up to 4 days. For cooling measures, a high powered portable cooling system using a silicone cap was used and applied within 10 minutes of when the injury occurred. Though this particular cooling measure may be hard to replicate, the overall takeaway is that immediate cooling of the brain can reduce recovery time and any left over side effects.
The prevalence of head injuries among equestrians is significant and important to address.These new guidelines and protocols should help alleviate symptoms and improve recovery time, allowing riders to literally, get back on the horse.