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Complementary Medicine for brain injury recovery
In our phone conversation I heard someone mention that they just gotten back from Acupuncture. and was wondering if any others have used alternative treatments and what are the benefits? I also have been seeing an acupuncturist for a number of years for various reasons. Kidney stones, surgery recovery to name a few. For this accident, she has done a lot to help the physical damage, broken forearm, jaw fractures.
I have also seen a Physical Therapist and a Chiropractor who work extensively with cranial plate mobility(yes they move, and need to).
It's hard to determine the exact benefits of these treatments because you don't know where you would be if you didn't use them. But quite often there is a noticeable change in pain level, comfort level, release of tension etc. That has got to help. Then there is always the advise, do these stretches, or avoid this activity.
Let us know your experience, and how you have been helped.
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Great discussion topic, @hevykevy. I'm actually going to prepare a blog post about acupuncture. What questions would you like me to investigate in the blog? What tips would you recommend for people with TBI who may be considering acupuncture?
I would like to hear what others have done and what results they have experienced. Most of what I have focused on are the physical issues that remain, but I have to believe that anything that helps relax my neck will increase blood flow to the brain and improve that function.
The problem I find with any treatment is that it is hard to know for a certainty a measure of the improvement. For example, when I was in ER with a kidney stone, bent over in the worst pain I had ever experienced, and they finally got to me with an injection of pain killer, within a few seconds I was "Wow! this is great! I feel good now." With some treatments it may take months to make a difference, and then you don't really know if it was the treatment or just the passing of time. You can't use 1/2 of your body as a control group and the other half as a treated group. Don't get me wrong, the first time I got acupuncture, while driving home after the treatment, I felt my whole neck totally release and adjust itself into a very nicely relaxed condition. Usually, though, results are less definable.
I was able to get acupuncture because the concussion doctor mentioned that it might help me, and that my health insurance would cover it. I found out that they did indeed approve of 12 visits per calendar year, with a $10 copay. The acupuncture helped with my migraines, the bundle of rock hard muscles in my neck, and with a lot of my other pains in general, mostly from clenched muscles. I was going once a week, and I loved it, but all of a sudden Medicare has cut me off. I realized that some of my neck pain might have been from a jolting rear-ending I had two months after my original injury. The acupuncture check in people had been asking me if this visit was due to a car injury, once I thought about it, maybe the pain was in part due to the rear-ending.
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1 ReactionWe are looking in to HBOT sessions....we have to get through a couple surgeries first, but have started the initial investigation. Also, water therapy has started. it is doing great with vestibular balance issues.