In the United States alone, the National Institute of Health ( www.nih.gov ) estimates that close to 1.4 million people are affected each year with Traumatic Brain Injury.  Traumatic Brain Injury is defined as a blow or jolt to the head, or a penetrating head injury that disrupts function of the brain. The severity of such an injury may range from "mild" i.e. a brief change in mental status or consciousness to "severe", i.e. an extended period of unconsciousness or amnesia after the injury. Of those 1.4 million TBI incidents per year, 1.1 million are the classic concussions that are medically evaluated and then sent home to watch, rest, and recover. 

Now add the millions who never seek medical attention after sustaining a mild to moderate concussion, and the statistics of accident victims who don't actually hit their head, but sustain what are called acceleration-deceleration injuries like whiplash, spinal traumas, or hits to the body that result in the brain "hitting" the skull, and the head trauma numbers become staggering.

Populations that are most affected by head trauma and TBI are:

1) Men:  They participate in contact/impact sports, have higher rates of assaults, and tend to work "higher" risk jobs. 

2) Children between the ages of 0-4: think of your average toddler learning to walk, jumping off the coffee table, falling down the stairs, and being at the mercy of older siblings and adults.

3) Teenagers between 15-19.

4) Military: combat personnel are exposed to mortar attacks and "brain rattling" booms that alter brain function. There are thousands of veterans returning from duty in Afghanistan and Iraq who look normal and never sustained a penetrating head wound, but have brains that are damaged.

Even "minor" hits on a repetitive basis can cause biochemical and structural brain change, relating to many long term symptoms and diagnoses such as ADHD, Depression, Migraine, Fibromyalgia, OCD/Anxiety, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's Dementia. A recent study commissioned by the National Football League (NFL) reports that Alzheimer's disease or similar memory-related diseases appear to have been diagnosed in the league's former players vastly more often than in the national population - including a rate of 19 times the normal rate for men ages 30 through 49. 

Increased scrutiny of head trauma and how to prevent it is a hot topic of discussion in the medical world today. Treatment options however remain minimal and consist of watch and wait, medications such as anti-seizure, anti-depressant, narcotics, and possible behavioral therapy.  Structural integrity and nutrient imbalances experienced by the brain after trauma are important to address.

 NeuroCranial Restructuring (NCR), a structural therapy that addresses cranial shape, cerebral spinal fluid dynamics, and connective tissue tensions throughout the skull and muscular system can help treat the symptoms of head trauma.  NCR can restore balance, decrease or eliminate symptoms of headaches, pain, mental imbalance, and improve blood flow. It is only minimally invasive, requires no drugs, no anesthesia, and most patients walk out feeling better than when they arrived.

Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy (PEMFT), of which we offer in our clinic,  has also shown results in helping diminish symptoms of head trauma.  Headaches are a common symptom of head trauma, PEMFT has been shown to decrease  headache pain and intensity.  

"In the active-treatment group, all assessed criteria were significantly improved at the end of the migraine/headache study. 76% of active-treatment patients experienced clear or very clear relief of their complaints. Only 1 placebo-patient (2.5%) felt some relief; 8% noted slight and 2% reported significant worsening of symptoms. No side effects were noted. " Advances in Therapy   PMID: 11571822

Addressing the biochemical imbalances with drugs, nutrients, and hormones, can also help improve recovery outcomes. NCR and PEMFT, when used in conjunction with a biochemical protocol, can have amazing outcomes for those suffering from the short and long term effects of head trauma. 

Quality of life is important to everyone, so if you or someone you love is living with lasting effects of Traumatic Brain Injury or head trauma, seek out all your options.  In the meantime, wear your helmet, your seat belt, and avoid activities that involve hitting your head- your BODY and BRAIN with thank you.

 Dr Hillary 

The Basics Of Head Trauma & NCR

About This Video:

Dr. Hillary gives a simple 6 minute introduction to the basics of how to treat the effects of head trauma with NeuroCranial Restructuring (NCR). She covers the three classes of concussion, the leading causes of traumatic brain injury (TBI), who is most at risk for TBI (men, children and teens, athletes, and military personnel) and why, statistics about TBI, common treatments, and why NCR improves the fluid dynamics in the head and neck to improve the neurological function of the body.

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The Basics Of Head Trauma & NCR

 Just in time for National Nutrition Month, a landmark study published in the Lancet, found that 64% of ADHD diagnosed and medicated children benefited MORE from removing food allergies and sensitivities than taking drugs.  Simply put, diet is more effective than medicating children with ADHD.  Dr Lidy Pelsser of the ADHD Research Centre in the Netherlands found that many of the children who are diagnosed with ADHD actually have food hypersensitivities that are influencing their behaviors, and when a stricter, and healthier diet is imposed, these children become "normal".  With around 10% of US children being diagnosed with ADHD (which is an enormous percentage- anyone else shaking their head?), and over 3 million of those children on drugs such as Ritalin, Adderall, and other stimulant medications, there is no doubt ADHD diagnosis is big business. 

If your child is exhibiting symptoms such as hyperactivity, poor focus, temper tantrums, separation anxiety, or is one of the three million medicated children, this study proves that diet should be your first line of treatment.  Also, a majority of the ADHD/Autism spectrum children that I run biochemical tests on, have food allergies plus significant nutrient deficiencies such as low Vit D, B vitamins, Vit C, and minerals- all of which are essential for optimal cell function.

Nutritional biochemistry is the cornerstone of Naturopathic care, so if you are looking to improve your child's health and reduce their dependence on stimulant medications, I highly encourage you to seek out Naturopathic care and nutritional counseling.  Overall care is inexpensive and could not just transform your child, but your entire family.  Refer to my past blog to find out other ways to help your ADHD child without drugs.  The key is education, take control of your health, and you will transform the lives of generations that come after you!

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Dr Robert Sapolsky is a professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University and has done research on Primates in Kenya. Growing up in NYC he dreamed of living with apes, and later did just that, living with baboons in Africa. There he began to study the stress responses of the baboons and thus its correlation to us humans. He wrote the first version of this book in 1994, a second in 1998, and now this version in 2004. (Science is constantly changing, and what we think we know is constantly changing).

I read it back in med school, but lately it has come back into my life as I've been researching the nervous system. The title is interesting and at first glance makes you wonder, what do zebra's have to do with this book? And why don't they get ulcers? Well it all boils done to stress, and how stress can save and/or kill us.

There are different types of stress, and they affect the body differently, whether you are a human or any other animal living on the planet. Most animals, the zebra for example, live in a peaceful state of wandering, eating, drinking etc without much worry. Once in a while though the zebra experiences moments of acute stress, like running from a hungry lion, where split second hormonal and neurological activities are essential for their ultimate survival. These nervous system functions are the same in humans, and under acute stress, we do what it called the "flight or fight" reaction. It used to be that people worried about dying from diseases such as Cholera, Polio, the Flu ( hmmm I guess they still are, but not to the extent that we used to see) However, in this day and age of tests, bills, deadlines, traffic, the list could go on, more people are living with CHRONIC stress and dying from stress related diseases, and thus the ulcers begin.

This book wraps up the many ways in which good and bad stress can affect our lives and bodies, but it also looks at the personality and HOW the mind can influence our perceptions and ultimately who CHRONIC stress will kill first. Did you know that if your mother was malnourished during her first trimester you have a higher risk of heart disease or obesity, and in the 2nd or 3rd trimester a greater chance of diabetes? Did you know that more people living in NYC die of heart attacks than anywhere else in America, or that high levels of stress hormone secretion is what kills salmon after their long journey to the spawning grounds? (of course taking away the nets, fisherman, eagles, bears) This book is FULL of interesting science, facts, and some fiction, and the author has a great sense of humor! (Definitely read the notations at the bottom of the marked pages, they can usually give you a good laugh!) The author endlessly refers to research but also gives some of his own experiential theories. (pg 200 his idea about Fibromyalgia and its potential correlation to high Substance P and some low stress hormones- interesting?) as well as some of his fellow scientists (pg 33, Dr Shelley Taylor of UCLA suggesting that "fight or flight" only applies to males, and that the female stress response is "tend and befriend" because of their higher oxytocin release during stress, a theory that could explain why women tend to be more social beings.)

This book is a great reference, as the author has it nicely divided into chapters like Pain and Stress, Depression and Stress, Personality, Temperance, and their Stress Related Consequences etc etc so it is easy to flip to the chapter that one is needing in any given moment. However I recommend reading the first 6 chapters, as they give a good rundown for those "laymen" who aren't up to speed on the neurophysiology (big word), biology, endocrinology (other big word) and so on- background it always good when learning about a new subject. It not only gives the lowdown on stress, but actually some things we can do to make the picture not so bleak- action vs reaction!

I highly recommend this book and any of Dr Sapolsky's other writings, refer to http://www.barclayagency.com/sapolsky_corporate.html for more info about this interesting man!