Reducing Post-Concussive Symptoms through Interdisciplinary Interventions

Aya El Tork 

Persistent post concussive symptoms (PCS) impact peoples’ everyday life and overall functioning. The injury leading to post concussive symptoms is usually from physical trauma to the head. The impact to the head results in post concussive symptoms that vary in intensity and duration, depending on the physical damage that occurs at the level of the brain cells. A vast majority of people who receive injuries to the head are diagnosed with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), while others are diagnosed with PCS.

PCS may impact a person’s energy and motivation levels, physical, psychological, emotional, and social functioning, all of which impact the individual’s satisfaction with their quality of life and current situation. PCS can also result in sleep difficulties, various health problems, and change the individual’s response to pain. 

The issue of persistent concussive symptoms is important because it impacts people’s daily lives, whether work or leisure life. However, the majority are unaware of the impact of concussions on their overall functioning and wellbeing, nor do they know how to cope with the symptoms that follow.

There are very few post concussion rehabilitation programs, because people underutilize resources and underestimate the recovery period due to the nature of their symptoms; they assume their mild headaches, sensitivity to light, and irregular sleep patterns are fixable and they are in no need for rehabilitation. The misconception of rate of recovery worsens the symptoms and further impacts the individual’s functioning. Thus, we need to properly research and implement research-based interventions and rehabilitation programs for such cases. Not to mention that as long as our brains are in our skulls, we are all susceptible to a mild head injury, hence why learning about the symptoms, knowing how to identify them, and utilizing the provided resources is crucial for optimizing our functioning. 

In order to address this issue, a group of researchers in Denmark conducted a study in order to investigate the type of intervention best suited for people with PCS. They tried to understand how different interventions aided the patients' recovery, by randomly placing a group of people in standard care, which is provided by the public system and general practitioners, and another group in a personalized programme called S-REHAB that was led by a group of specialists that used multiple therapeutic interventions. S-REHAB focused on the patients' performance and their ability to implement their new skills in daily situations, while preparing them to be reintegrated into their normal, working life. Whereas, the standard care varied in terms of the type of treatments provided and their intensity. All in all, the results of the study showed that people in the S-REHAB group had improved functioning, energy levels, and overall well-being; this shows that personalized rehabilitation programs, such as S-REHAB are superior to standard care. All in all, the benefits of specialized rehabilitation programs include increased social functioning, activity levels, well-being, and overall satisfaction in working conditions, and in life.

" ...On this foundation, we will mobilize everyone in our community to become a regional and national leader in distributed, integrated care that leaves everyone who encounters our organization healthier and with a better quality of life."

                                   -St. Joseph's Health Care Strategy, 2018-2019  

Hana Mala Rytter, Klaus Westenbaek, Henriette Henriksen, Peter Christiansen & Frank Humle (2019) Specialized interdisciplinary
rehabilitation reduces persistent post-concussive symptoms: a randomized clinical trial, Brain Injury, 33:3, 266-281,
DOI:10.1080/02699052.2018.1552022