Recently Suffered From A Concussion? What You Should Know About Recovery

When you have suffered from a concussion recently, you may feel as if you can just wait it out, and let your brain heal itself. However, when you have had a serious head injury, you often need help in overcoming and recovering from your head trauma. Concussions are not just something to dismiss as no big deal. Whether it is your first concussion or your seventh, taking the proper precautions to help you in your recovery process can mean all the difference in the world. Get to know some of the steps that you should take to recover from your concussion, so you can be sure you are as healthy as possible going forward. 

Avoid Drinking Alcohol

Alcohol is one of the worst things you can put into your body, when you are recovering from a concussion. When you consume alcohol, it interacts with the brain and sends signals that jumpstart certain processes, while blocking others. This interference with the normal, everyday function of the brain can prevent the concussion from healing as quickly as it would otherwise, and it can even completely halt healing, if alcohol is consumed regularly. 

Rest, Rest, Rest

When you have suffered from a major head trauma, you do not want to further jostle your brain and cause additional injuries and issues. Because of this, you need to be sure that you rest, and avoid strenuous activities and exercise. For at least 24 hours, you should try to stay still, and preferably, rest in bed. Avoiding strenuous exercise should continue for several days or even weeks after the concussion. You will need to wait for your doctor to clear you for participation in sports, or other such activities, if you want to be sure that you do not further aggravate your head injury or add another injury on top of the original one. 

Occupational and Physical Therapy

Concussions can have a major impact on your balance, ability to perform basic tasks and activities, and the like. Because of this, many people with concussions also need physical and occupational therapy to recover from their injuries. Occupational therapy involves the tasks of daily living like driving, getting in and out of the car, dressing, and other things you would do every day. The idea of occupational therapy is to retrain the brain to perform these activities, whichever are affected by the concussion, and to give you adjustments to those activities, as needed. 

Physical therapy, on the other hand, is less about specific tasks of daily living and more about overall body function and balance. In physical therapy, you will perform exercises to help regain control over your balance and body as a whole, and deal with any longer lasting effects of the concussion and head trauma. 

Now that you know more about recovering from a concussion, you can be sure you are doing what is best for you and your head injury going forward.

For more information, talk to companies like Hands-On Physical Therapy.


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