Concussion Flashcards
what level of TBI would a concussion be classified as?
mild TBI
explain the pathophysiology of a concussion
this is a metabolic brain injury
↑ ENERGY DEMAND + ↓ BLOOD SUPPLY → METABOLIC CRISIS
list the clinical subtypes of concussion
- Cognitive/Fatigue
- Ocular
- Vestibular
- Anxiety/Mood
- Cervical
- Post Traumatic Migraine
describe the symptoms of the Cognitive/Fatigue Subtype
most often seen EARLY ON followinc concussion
- Fatigue
- HA with cognitive and physical activity
- “end of day” symptoms
- often see sleep distrubances
exam findings for Cognitive/Fatigue subtype
- Vestibular/Ocular screening
- normal
- Neurocognitive Test Results
- mild, but global/widespread, deficits across all composites
- deficits with retrieval, encoding intact
treatment for the cognitive/fatigue subtype
- incorporate physical/cognitive breaks throughout the day
- NO NAPS
- pharmacological options available if persistent
- neurostimulants
- sleep aide
- Cog therapy → if symptoms linger more than a few months
- Monitored, structured exercise progression
risk factors for the Ocular/Visual Subtypes
personal/family history of ocular dysfunction
symptoms for the Ocular/Visual Subtypes
- Frontal HA driven by visual work
- Difficulties w/visually-based classes, assignments, or activities
- Pressure behind eyes
- Visual “focus” issues
- Blurry vision
- Double vision
exam findings for the Ocular/Visual Subtypes
- Vision/Oculomotor Exam
- +Smooth Pursuit, Saccades
- Convergence difficulties
- insufficiency
- spasms/excess
- Accommodative insufficiency
- Binocular visual deficits
- Strabismus
- Tropias
- Phorias
- Neurocognitive Test Results
- deficits in reaction time
- deficits w/visual memory (encoding rather than retrieval)
what is a strabismus?
a misalignment of the eyes or dysconjugate gaze at rest
what is a topia?
overt deviation of the eye
tend to be present at all time
- exo → outward (laterally)
- eso → inward (medially)
- hyper → upward
- hypo → downward
what is phoria?
ocular deviation occurs when dissociation occurs
tend to show up as the eyes get tired
describe what occurs if strabismus is severe or subtle
- Severe
- diplopia
- head tilt (vertical misalignment)
- noticeable eye turn
- Subtle
- difficulty maintaining focus
- cosmetically normal
- ocular soreness
- HA
- mental dullness
what is the difference between convergence and divergence?
- convergence → ability of eyes to turn inward to focus on a near target
- divergence → ability of eyes to move outwards to focus on a further target
what are the general symptoms of vergence dysfunction?
- Asthenopia when reading
- Frontal HA
- Intermittent/Constant double vision
- Squints/closes one eye
- Letters appear to float/move on the page
list some common vergence problems
- Convergence insufficiency
- Convergence excess
- Convergence spasm
describe accommodative dysfunction
reduction in ability to focus at near, may prematurely need reading glasses or bifocals
accommodative spasm (over focusing at near)
this is a struggle to coordinate accommodation and vergence, leading to difficulty in spatial awareness
accommodative dysfuction will cause trouble with ________
spatial awareness
computers/phones/near work
treatment of Ocular/Visual Subtype
- Ocular Motor Training
- Physical Exertion → generally well tolerated
risk factors for vestibular subtype
PMHx of car sickness/motion sensitivity, migraine, anxiety
symptoms for Vestibular Subtype
- Vertigo
- Dizziness
- Nausea
- Overwhelmed in visually-stimulating environments
- Balance impairments
S/S of Vestibular Dysfunction
- Dizziness
- Blurry Vision
- Nystagmus
- Tinnitus
- Vertigo
- Hearing Loss
- Loss of balance and possible falls
- Broad-based stance (to accommodate for imbalance)
- Sweating, nausea, and vomiting (due to ANS involvement)
list causes of Vestibular Dysfunction in TBI
- Labyrinthine Concussion
- Skull fracture
- Hemorrhage into Labyrinth
- Hemorrhage into brainstem
- Incrased ICP
possible manifestation of Labyrinthine Concussion
ataxia, imbalance, BPPV may be present
most common vestibular injury due to TBI
possible manifestations of skull fracture TBI
- UVL or BVL (partial or complete)
- conductive hearing loss
- may have mixed peripheral and central lesions
these are common w/blows to the occiput, temporal or parietal regions
possible manifestations of hemorraghes into labyrinth TBI
- May create post traumatic hydrops (Meniere’s type syndrome)
- Damage to labyrinth, may create acute vertigo and unilteral hearing loss
- labyrinthine damage may present with S/S similar to acute peripheral vestibular damage
possible manifestations of hemorrage into brainstem TBI
- Oculomotor signs
- poor smooth pursuit
- vertigo
- perception of tilt
this results in damage to vestibular and oculomotor nuclei
possible manifestations of increased ICP TBI
- fluctuating hearing loss
- ataxia
- imbalance
- may cause perilymph fistual
exam findings for vestibular subtype
- Vestibular/Ocular Screen
- VOR dysfunction (vertical and/or horizontal)
- VOR suppression
- Can see +smooth pursuit, saccades
- **not sig enough to see +skew
- Neurocognitive Test results
- difficulty w/visual motor speed, reaction time
the vestibular subtype frequently coexisits with ____________
Migraine and/or Anxiety Subtype
Treatment for vestibular subtypes
- Vestibular Rehab Therapy (VRT)
- Pharmacological (as needed)
- Meclizine
- Tricyclic antidepressants
- Melatonin
- SSRIs
risk factors for anxiety/mood subtype
personal/family hx of anxiety, migraine, vestibular disorders
symptoms for anxiety/mood subtype
- ruminative thoughts
- hyper-vigilant
- fastidious
- easily overwhelmed
- difficulties initiating/maintaining sleep
exam findings for anxiety/mood subtype
- Vestibular/Ocular Screen
- normal
- Neurocognitive Test Results
- normal
anxiety/mood subtype treatment
- treat vestibular and/or migraine subtype, if present
- supervised exertion therapy
- cognitive behavior training
- regulated schedule
- sleep, exercise, diet, hydration, etc
- Psychotherapy
- Pharmacology
- antidepressants
- benzos
risk factors for post-traumatic migraine subtype
personal or family hx of migraine, ice-cream HA, motion sensitivity, vestibular disorder, anxiety
symptoms for post-traumatic migraine subtype
- variable HA
- often wakes with HA
- nausea, photo and/or phonophobia
- stress, anxiety, lack of exercises
- sleep dysregulation
what is a migraine?
a neurovascular event that is a failure of central modulation of trigeminovascular system
- 1/3 of pts will experience preceding aura
- visual, sensory, language, motor
- high genetic predisposition
exam findings for post-traumatic migraine subtype
- vestibular/ocular screen
- normal
- neurocognitive test results
- verbal and visual memory deficits
treatment for post-traumatic migraine subtype
- medications
- pain, sleep regulation
- diet
- stress management
- avoid migraine “triggers”
- alcohol, caffeine, poor sleep
- NO PT
risk factors for cervical subtype
- prior c-spine injury
- high-velocity injury
- strong rotational component to injury
symptoms for cervical subtype
- neck pain, stiffness, soreness
- HA radiating forward from upper C/S
- precipitated/aggravated by specific neck movements or sustained postures
exam findings for cervical subtypes
- vestibular/ocular screen
- normal
- Neurocognitive test results
- normal
- cervical screen
treatment for cervical subtype
- obtain imaging
- cervical stabilization exercises
- medication
- muscle relaxants, analgesics
- injection/nerve block
- massage, acupuncture
most commonly reported symptoms in post-concussive athletes
- HA
- feeling slowed down
- difficulty concentrating
- dizziness
- fogginess
- fatigue
- visual blurring/double vision
- light sensitivity
- memory dysfunction
- balance problems
sideline concussion assessments
- SCAT5
- Sideline Impact Test
- NFL Sideline Tool
- Standarized Assessment of Concussion (SAC)
- King-Devick Test
what is the purpose of the Buffalo Concussion Treadmill Test
- to investigate exercise tolerance in pts w/post-concussive symptoms >3 weeks
- to help establish appropriate levels of exercise to aid in return to play/activity
- to aid in differentiating between possible diagnoses for concussive symptoms
- to ID physiological variables associated with exacerbation of symptoms and pt’s level of recovery
stopping criteria for the Buffalo Concussion Treadmill Test
- symptom exacerbation
- an increase of 3 or more pts on the VAS scale from resting VAS score
- voluntary exhaustion
- an RPE >17 w/o sig symptom exacerbation
- pt demo’s rapid progression of complaints, pt appears faint, has stopped communicating, or continuing the test constitutes a sig health risk for the pt
- pt reaches 90% or more of age-predicted HRmax
- with or w/o any increase in symptoms and still reporting low RPE
BCTT Exercise prescription
- 80% of the max HR reached w/o symptom exacerbation
- 20 min daily w/o exceeding the time or HR constraints
- swimming, walking or stationary cycling → do not attempt resistance training
describe typical recovery for concussion
- 85-90% concussions show signs of recovery in first 10-14 days
- may be more like 21-28 days for full biophysiological process
- Recovery from sports-related concussion in children is ~4 weeks
- early ID of impairments aids in return to activity/sport w/o prolonged sequelae
predictors of prolonged recovery for concussion
- Initial symptoms
- sex
- age
- loss of consciousness
- amnesia
- premorbid comorbidities
- pysch dx, migraines, vestibular dysfunction