Concussion

The first thing you need to do if you had an injury with concussion symptoms (see below) is to be assess by a medical professional - do not delay talking to your GP and go to hospital as they will be able to diagnose you (as an osteopath I can’t).

What is cranial osteopathic treatment for concussion

Following the first 24-36h of full rest you can start treatment. The sooner the better! Even if you are extremely sensitive and sore.

I use cranial osteopathy to provide relief to your symptoms, it is a very gentle hands-on treatment that doesn’t stress your body at all. Over the course of the treatment, I will use different techniques that will help with every symptoms.

The severity of concussion varies for everyone, generally I would recommend around 6 treatments.

On the first treatment I will take a full case history and will go through all the symptoms. Please fill this form before your appointment. I will assess the body and explain the management. The first treatment will settle the body. You should feel more relax, able to sleep better and a change in your symptoms.

The following sessions will reassess and provide more treatments specific to symptoms. There will be a formal review after 6 th treatment or earlier if symptoms have resolved.

I can also refer you to the concussion clinic services or private concussion specialist.

Sign and symptoms of concussion
Physical	Cognitive	Emotional	Sleep
Headache	In a “fog”, can’t think clearly	Sad	Sleeping more
Neck pain	Can't follow conversation	Easily irritated	Trouble falling asleep
Post-traumatic amnesia	Trouble with attention and/or concentration	Anxious	Not sleeping soundly
Nausea	Difficulty learning new information	More emotional than usual	Sleep cycle disturbed
Dizziness	Word finding problems	Changes in personality	Not feeling rested after sleep
Sensitivity to light/sound	Slowed reaction times	More impulsive
Fatigue

For advise from ACC:
https://www.acc.co.nz/assets/im-injured/acc8319-concussion-education-sheet.pdf

For research paper cranial osteopathy and concussion research: https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7556/jaoa.2018.061/html
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7556/jaoa.2020.099/html

I am currently committed to gathering cranial osteopathic data and providing a better understanding of what osteopathy can do to support treatment of concussion.