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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 14, 2019)
Wednesday, August 14, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Health & Fitness 17 Physical therapy can help concussion recovery By Jim Cornelius Editor in Chief Awareness of the risks and effects of concussions has grown tremendously in recent years. From the NFL down to high school sports, coaches, players and parents have learned the principle of <when in doubt, sit it out= when it comes to head inju- ries. The potential repercus- sions of multiple concussions have made it imperative to heal from an injury before get- ting back on the playing field. Physical therapist Laura Ahmed of Step & Spine Physical Therapy has expe- rienced those changes first- hand 4 as an athlete and as a therapist. She is an expert in the treatment of concussions. <I9ve had concussions myself, and the way this was managed 15 years ago and the way it9s managed now is very different,= she said. <It9s been a really cool time, because it really changed.= Rest protocols and proto- cols for returning to a sport or to work are part of the change 4 and so is a recognition that physical therapy may be an important tool in concussion recovery. <Every person is different when it comes to this injury,= Ahmed said. And the same person may respond differ- ently to a new injury. Each injury is its own thing.= Early recognition of a con- cussion is extremely impor- tant, especially in avoiding a second injury on top of the first. That, Ahmed says, <can make a huge difference in the length and complexity of their recovery.= Ahmed emphasizes that, while youth sports has gotten a lot of attention around this issue of late, concussions can happen to anyone 4 from a fall or from car accidents or a work-related mishap. <This isn9t just a teenaged athlete9s injury,= she said. A case in point was pro- vided by Step & Spine: their successful treatment of Sisters resident Randell (Randy) Drake. Drake, an electrician and a military veteran, experienced 40 years of blackouts, dizzi- ness, nausea, headaches, and significant neck pain. His time serving in the mil- itary during the Vietnam War resulted in several head inju- ries that caused his debilitating symptoms. Then, in 1978, a severe car accident left Drake with an open skull fracture. <My car accident reopened the unhealed wounds I had from my time in the military,= he said. He spent years visiting doc- tor after doctor only to receive pain medication and a couple of physical therapy appoint- ments. Nothing seemed to make a difference. As a last resort, his doctor gave him nerve-blocking injections that should have helped ease the debilitating symptoms he experienced throughout the day. They didn9t. Over the years, Drake began to accept that this was his new normal. He resigned himself to the fact that he would no longer be able to bike, ride horses, go back- packing or ride his motorcy- cle. Even walks were not pos- sible because of the constant pain in his neck. For unrelated knee pain, Randy went to see a physi- cal therapist at Step & Spine Physical Therapy9s Sisters clinic. As he progressed into single leg exercises, the ther- apist noticed he was having some trouble with balance and dizziness. The cause for Randy9s symptoms was not clear-cut. His dizziness could be attrib- uted to arthritis in his neck, also known as cervicogenic dizziness, as well as vestibular dysfunction. Anytime Randy looked up, something he fre- quently did as an electrician, a dizziness episode would occur. These episodes would cause his world to spin for up to five minutes at a time and would often cause black- outs. But Randy9s dizzy spells weren9t all related, which made finding the cause more challenging. The therapist began treat- ing Randy using vestibular habituation. The results were good, but he plateaued after a few treatments. When Nicole started working on his neck, Randy9s progress moved into hyperspeed. By relieving his general stiffness with manual tech- niques and incorporating exercises to strengthen and minimize joint hypomobil- ity, therapy provided a light at the end of a very dark tunnel. For the first time in 40 years, Drake felt significant relief in his neck, which resolved his headaches and reduced his dizziness. Today, Randy9s quality of life is steadily increasing. He has learned invaluable tools for managing his symptoms and knows what to do to pre- vent dizziness and blackouts. Drake9s case may be extraordinary, but it points up the value of physical therapy for recovery. Neck work, work on balance and <properly dosed cardio exercise= help people return to an active life. Ahmed notes that this has important psychological as well as physical effects. <It can be a really hard thing to go through when you feel like you can9t do any of your regular activities,= she said. While awareness of the seriousness of concussion is much greater than it was just a short time ago, Ahmed believes that people are not as aware that active treatment is possible. <I think that a lot of them (have) no idea that you can treat a concussion now,= she said. <There9s definitely things that can be done to rehabilitate.= Access to some of Cen Central n t ral Oregon’s most EXPERIENCED PHYSICAL THERAPISTS is in your backyard? Step & Spine Physical Therapy’s FIVE LOCATIONS are OPEN FIVE DAYS A WEEK to help you FEEL BETTER so you can STAY ACTIVE. TEN - TEN - TUES | 10 MINUTES - 10 DOLLARS - ANY TUESDAY Discover how you can benefit from physical therapy! Call to set up a 10-minute consult for only $10. Call TODAY to schedule an evaluation with one of our EXPERT physical therapists. All insurances are accepted. WWW.STEPANDSPINE.COM BEND BEND CRYO EAGLE CREST REDMOND SISTERS 2185 NW Shevlin Park Rd. 2797 NW Clearwater Dr., Ste. 400 7555 Falcon Crest Dr. 974 SW Veterans Way 625 N. 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