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Physical Therapy Exercises for Post Concussion Syndrome.

These exercises, especially the dynamic circuit ones, made me just slightly dizzy. The idea was expose and recover. They helped a lot. Getting my head to move up and down and side to side while looking in varying directions made me dizzy. By repeatedly doing these exercises, I helped my brain get used to those movements again. Eventually, none of them made me dizzy. 


8 comments :

  1. Hey can you describe what are Fast Steps 3x45" and lateral step touches 3x30" etc

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    1. Hi. The fast step was like this:
      http://www.ih8exercise.com/exercises/fast-step-up/
      Doing this made me dizzy, so they had me keep doing it daily for about 5 weeks until it no longer made me feel dizzy.

      The lateral step touches were the same thing except there was something on each side of the step on the floor that I had to reach out and touch as I came down from the step. I'd touch one side then on the next step the other side. This really made me dizzy at first. After about 5 weeks, it didn't make me dizzy anymore.

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  2. Hello, I recently went to upmc for a lingering concussion that happened about 12 months ago. They put me through the same process you did. They put me through all the tests and gave me a plan for recovery (great group of people). My only symptom was the mental fog (which according to micky is due to my vestibular system). I am 2 and a half weeks into my exercises and I feel mentally tired. Which is expected because I am trying to get myself to feel the symptoms. A quick question: When you said you felt dizzy doing some of the exercises, how dizzy did you get? To the point where you couldn't stand up? I do these drills and I only feel a tad dizzy when I do them. I am worried my plan is not aggressive as it should be. Let me know how dizzy you got doing some of your drills and when you started to feel better. Thanks

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    1. Hi. So I was just a tad dizzy too. That's a good point. I went in not even thinking I had any dizziness and reported a 1 or 2 out of 10 during the evaluation. So I wouldn't worry too much about not feeling super dizzy (if your case is like mine.)

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  3. Hello,
    For the expose and recover method, what were your biggest triggers for the mental fog you talked about? I am trying to find a pattern that makes my symptoms worse but I can only find one and that is playing basketball. Also, you talked about going to crowded places and then recovering, how long did it take you to feel the symptoms in those crowded places? Thanks

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    1. Hi Tom. The biggest triggers changed over time. First it was getting my heart rate up. That was a big problem that the buffalo protocol helped resolve. Also, bright lights, loud crowds, social situations with lots of people, and confined spaces.

      As for basketball, it could be your heart rate or some slight dizziness which could be imperceptible (it was for me).

      You could get on a treadmill or go for a run and see if you can trigger your symptoms, tracking your BPM if possible. Seeing a good vestibular therapist could help you figure out if it is dizziness. You're jumping up and down a lot and shifting your head a lot in basketball so that seems likely.

      And as for loud crowds, it would take a while for me to get symptoms. 30 minutes. An hour. But I could tell before long that I didn't feel quite normal. After 30-60 minutes I knew I needed a break.

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  4. Hi I've been suffering from concussion for 6weeks now. I'm in the UK and the medical care is not as good as in the UK. I've been told to rest. My symptoms are generally exhaustion and headaches. I've been reading your report and just wondering when you do the exercise am I meant to get tired again? If I do do I just tough it out and push through til I'm finished?

    Thanks for any advice

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  5. Did you ever notice any sensitivities to foods, scents, chemicals, mold, etc? And if so did they clear up after UPMC therapy?

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