Sports-Related Concussions & Subconcussive Injuries

When her concussed daughter Heidi began feeling  "buzzy" for 60- to 90-seconds at a time, Dorothy Bedford was scared, but diagnostic tests (EEG and MRI) were no help in identifying the reason for her symptoms.

An invitation to an annual concussion conference co-sponsored by Boston and Harvard Universities not only gave Dorothy Bedford a chance to visit Fenway Park, but to hear about the latest concussion research, and meet a concussion specialist whose second opinion provided needed reassurance that her daughter was on the road to recovery.

An athlete's extended recovery from concussion disrupts the family, not only in terms of the financial expense but on day-to-day family life, says a mom whose daughter took 14 months to recover from her concussion.

Not only is it important for concussed students to avoid play but they need to avoid cognitive exertion, says the mom of one concussed athlete, which is critical to making a successful recovery at an early point, instead of having it extended, as it was in her daughter Heidi's case.

Mild aerobic exercise such as walking, following an experimental protocol developed at the State University of New York at Buffalo, helped her daughter Heidi's recovery from post-concussion syndrome (PCS), says her mom, Dorothy Bedford.

Ten months post-concussion, Dorothy Bedford explains how two months on the drug Amantadine, followed by six weeks of vestibular balance therapy, were the final steps on her daughter Heidi's road to recovery.

Seven months after her daughter's concussion, Dorothy Bedford was frustrated that Heidi could still not play contact sports, and continued to experience concussion symptoms and cognitive impairment, which effected her grades and scores on standardized tests.