The dangers of professional football is a hot topic. Studies have found high rates of concussions, traumatic brain injuries, and a serious brain disorder called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in former players. These injuries can have terribly debilitating effects. Please contact us if you have had a Football Head Injury and are suffering from the following symptoms.
Symptoms of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy
The symptoms of CTE can be debilitating and may have life-changing effects for both the individual and for his or her family. Some of the most common include loss of memory, difficulty controlling impulsive or erratic behavior, impaired judgment, behavioral disturbances including aggression and depression, difficult with balance, and a gradual onset of dementia. An individual with CTE may mistakenly ascribe the symptoms to the normal process of aging, or might receive a wrong diagnosis due to the fact that many of the symptoms are similar to other conditions such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease. CTE has been diagnosed in several notable cases which received widespread media attention, including the suicide deaths of NFL player Junior Seau, and professional wrestler Chris Benoit who committed suicide after murdering his wife and son.
Assessment and Treatment at CTE Help
At CTE-Help.com, we offer assessments and treatment packages
Biofeedback and Neurofeedback Treatments for CTE
There are some neurofeedback and biofeedback treatments combining neurofeedback and biofeedback for brain disorders. An advantage of these methods of treatments is that medications can be reduced or eliminated, thereby avoiding the side effects of medication. It is also likely that the therapeutic results will be permanent.
Can a Football Head Injury cause CTE?
A review of available literature indicates that the greatest risk factor for developing CTE-related brain changes is repetitive brain trauma — repeated, forceful blows to the head (such as those that may occur playing contact sports) that do not, individually, result in symptoms. The repeated blows are believed to cause trauma to the brain cell, and with repeated blows, more brain and more brain cells are damaged, which reduces the mental functioning of the person. This means that there is a reduction in memory ability, increased impulsivity (the brain has lost the ability to hold itself back), reduced ability to solve problems and figure things out, and depression and anxiety due to both the brain not working well and the reaction all these problems.
What we do at CTE-HELP
Evaluation of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)
There are 3 overall ways to evaluate CTE: Symptom report, Neuropsychological Evaluation and Quantitative EEG.
- Symptom Report. The common symptoms of CTE are problems with memory, impulsivity, and thinking and problem solving. Another way to look at this is to ask the person “What things do you have trouble doing that you were able to do several years ago?”
- Neuropsychological Evaluation. This evaluation is about 8 hours of direct testing, one-on-one, with another hour or two filling out questionnaires and history forms, and 7 hours to score the material and write the report. This tests overall intelligence, memory, reasoning, visual and verbal processing, problem solving and abstract thinking. The different scores are compared to what is believed to be the person’s overall level of intelligence, especially before the blows to the head started. Often, these reports are 10 to 15 pages long, and as noted above, there are about 15 hours of professional time.
- Quantitative Electroencephalogram (QEEG). In this assessment, the brain wave information is collected by putting sensors on 19 sites on the head. A series of frequencies of brain functioning are derived at all the site (Delta, T nce and Phase). All of this information is displayed in “Brain Maps” to show where and in what frequencies there are excesses and deficiencies. This information is used directly in the field of NeuroTherapy which addresses the problem areas and seeks to bring this brain back to normal functioning. READ MORE ABOUT NEUROFEEDBACK
- Cognitive Remediation. This treatment consists of giving the patient exercises to improve the cognitive functioning. Some of these exercises include Word Finding, recalling stories or passages read to the patient, reasoning and problem solving. Another exercise is reading a passage or a chapter and writing out the main idea.
What we do to help CTE
QEEG : What is it?
Most people have heard of an EKG (electrocardiogram) but have not heard of a QEEG. The same way that heart activity is measured via EKG, brain activity is measured via EEG. The “Q” is the quantitative analysis which mathematically compares your brain to the norm; thus showing areas of dysregulation.
Why do we do this?
At The Brain Clinic we know that no two brains are created alike, and that’s why our treatments are not either. The QEEG allows us to give you a personalized treatment targeting your specific areas of dysregulation to help you become your most optimal self.
What’s next?
In one word; Neurotherapy. Neurotherapy is training your brainwaves out of dysregulation and into a better lifestyle pattern for you. This can be done with biofeedback (using real time displays to your brain activity) and cognitive remediation.
Contact us today for a Treatment Package. email: nurosvcs@aol.com
ARTICLES ABOUT FOOTBALL HEAD INJURY
https://www.nytimes.com/topic/subject/head-injuries-in-football
http://www.protectthebrain.org/Brain-Injury-Research/What-is-CTE-.aspx
SPORTS RELATED HEAD INJURY: https://www.aans.org/Patients/Neurosurgical-Conditions-and-Treatments/Sports-related-Head-Injury
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