Promising Therapy Could Make Post Concussion Not Such a Headache

Promising therapy provided relief of post concussion syndrome for young Guelph area hockey player. Current NHL players, like the Maple Leafs' Carlo Colaiacovo, could benefit from effective new approach to treating post concussion headaches.

Eric Lindros. Keith Primeau. Carlo Colaiacovo. Injury reserve lists and even retirement. Post Concussion effects can create headaches both literally and figuratively, especially in the world of hockey.

A young Cambridge, Ontario hockey prodigy was 17 at the time. Two weeks following a hockey fight, in which he received a shot to his left eye, the headaches started. The headaches didn't go away. He sat out games at first, then practices. He just couldn't manage the intensity without the headaches, dizziness or blurry vision getting the best of him. Soon school, social life and even watching television were not manageable.

Almost two years later after visits to specialists and therapy it was word of mouth that finally brought him to MMTR Health Inc. in Guelph, Ontario (www.mmtr.ca). "Based on what I had seen in the past, it was a fairly straight forward case," says Clinical Director and Neuromuscular Physiologist, Terry Moore.

"Post Concussion Syndrome, headaches, vertigo, nausea or even blurry vision can all have their roots in the interactions of muscle and nerves. This approach becomes quite apparent when you also consider how the injury happened," exclaims Moore. "In the instance of post concussion syndrome, there is some type of physical trauma to the head, which jars the brain. Beyond that however, you have the reaction of the postural muscles in the upper neck and base of the head, which immediately go into spasm. It's what becomes a chronic level of postural muscle spasm that affects the tissues and nerves producing the symptoms that can follow for months or sometimes years."

The therapy at MMTR Health Inc. (www.mmtr.ca) consists of 30 minutes of relaxing electromagnetic current to the postural muscles of the spine that would be involved in the injury or symptoms. They call this the "ENF" or Electro Neuromuscular Facilitator. "I called it a facilitator," says Moore, "because it allows the muscles to be stretched and worked in a way that is not otherwise possible without this first effect on the muscles. It's quite fascinating how the muscles, tissues and nerves interact. It wasn't until I applied my research in muscle blood flow in a therapeutic setting that we began to realize the relaxation effect that specific electromagnetic currents can have on muscle and nerves."

After two months of treatment at 2-3 times per week, this young man played two hours of road hockey and had remained headache free for three to four days after. Within the next month, he was back to watching some television and skating, practicing with his younger brother's hockey team. In the next six weeks, he was back on the ice more regularly, increasing his productivity at school and being able to enjoy movies with his friends.