Chiropractic Neurology Addresses Symptoms Concussion: Specialized Intervention Speeds Recovery for NHL’s Sidney Crosby

After a traumatic vestibular concussion resulted in year-long symptoms of instability, fogginess, dizziness and light sensitivity, National Hockey League (NHL) standout Sidney Crosby has reported improved cognitive and physical functioning and is progressing remarkably well, thanks to the care of a Doctor of Chiropractic with specialized training in neurology. The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress calls upon all coaches, parents and athletes to learn concussion signs and symptoms and what to do if a concussion occurs. “In professional hockey alone, there are more than 50,000 hits annually, and far too many of these are serious injuries to the head,” says Dr. Ted Carrick, the Chiropractic Neurologist who treats Crosby and other NHL and NFL players. Dr. Carrick is the Distinguished Professor of Neurology at Life University, Marietta, Ga., and points to vestibular concussions as a national epidemic requiring a resolution.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury (TBI) caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head that can change the way your brain normally works. Concussions can also occur from a fall or a blow to the body that causes the head and brain to move quickly back and forth. Health care professionals may describe a concussion as a “mild” brain injury because concussions are usually not life-threatening, but their effects can be serious.

“Concussions can occur in any sport or recreation activity,” says Dr. Carrick, a spokesperson for the Foundation. “Many people who suffer these injuries suffer seemingly irreparable symptoms that affect their daily activities and performance. With experience specific to the neurological system, our specially trained team utilizes an exclusive neurologically-based intervention that oftentimes is successful in the recovery process.”

According to the Foundation, board certified Chiropractic Neurologists are specialists within the chiropractic profession that receive an additional three years of specialty training following a Doctor of Chiropractic degree, to specifically deal with the functional integrity of the brain and nervous system. Treatment methods are brain-based, non-invasive, drug-free physical rehabilitation, using receptor-based stimulation, such as chiropractic adjustments, movement, light, taste and smell, in conjunction with nutritional therapies, exercise and rehabilitation. Collectively, these approaches work to re-establish balance as well as maximal brain and nervous system functionality.

According to Dr. Marc Ellis, a board certified Chiropractic Neurologist on Dr. Carrick’s Life University clinical team who also represents the Foundation, “Concussions and their debilitating effects have been receiving increased attention, particularly with professional athletes sidelined because of the lasting effects of a concussion. The issue has also become a flashpoint in youth sports – especially bicycling, football, playground activities, basketball and soccer.”
According to a recent report by the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research, more than 500,000 concussions are sustained by the 4.4 million children who play tackle football. Dr. Susan Esposito, another expert from the Life University Neurology Clinic shares, “Our society needs to place greater emphasis on prevention, while continuing to address those who experience concussions resulting from sports injuries, car accidents or other mishaps – especially our youth. This approach will not only have a major impact on professional and amateur athletes, but also the health of all Americans.”

Read more in the

Notes from Dr. Cohen: In recent years, the increased focus on concussions has provided the healthcare community with ever-improving knowledge of how best to manage concussions. Determining the ideal time to return an athlete to play is key to achieving an optimal recovery. As the National Hockey League knows, pre-season physicals and brain function tests are useful tools to aid physicians, coaches, and athletes deciding when a player can return to the field, track, or court. I use SCAT-2 testing, designed by The Zurich Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sport, and endorsed by The International Olympic Committee. The test is a standard element of a pre-season physical performed in my San Francisco office, ProActive Chiropractic. Currently, I’m becoming a Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician, a post-doctoral degree that enables me to better care for athletes and get them back to work and back to play!

Dr. Oz,  a celebrity MD famous for his ties to The Oprah Winfrey Show,  recently talked about chiropractic care on his television show, highlighting a huge study that reports that chiropractic care can be just as effective in relieving back pain as over the counter pain medication.  Watch this video to see Dr. Oz demonstrate an exercise that strengthens the core muscles around the spine (a good and easy exercise), and see an audience member receive an adjustment from a chiropractor on the show.

“While I appreciate Dr. Oz using his show to highlight chiropractic, he presented chiropractic as non-scientific and somewhat barbaric. He created the illusion that the audience member-patient was randomly picked live and on the spot so that viewers reasonably assumed that the chiropractor did no exam, history, or evaluation before or after the adjustment. This also leaves viewers wondering why she needed the adjustment and if chiropractors will just adjust anything,” states Dr. Cohen, a San Francisco Financial District chiropractor. Dr. Cohen also commented that Dr. Oz further distracted his audience from the positive impression of chiropractic that, one hopes, he was trying to convey by referring to the patient as “the victim.” A final measured critique of the show offered by Dr. Cohen notes that Dr.Oz’s introductory explanation of chiropractic and the recently published study gave the impression that the efficacy of chiropractic is just now coming to light and is very limited, which is, according to the overwhelming weight of the peer-reviewed evidence, inaccurate on both counts.

“I would never send my mother (always the test) to a chiropractor who just adjusted without using his or her brainpower first to get to the bottom of the problem,” said Dr. Cohen from his Financial District office. “Some patients don’t respond well to the rack-em-and-crack-em style shown on Dr. Oz, so there are more gentle approaches available.”  This can be determined by taking the time to evaluate each patient individually. What makes Dr. Cohen’s care different from the adjustment portrayed on the Dr. Oz show is that Dr. Cohen first meets with is patients to listen to them, discuss their symptoms, and test their muscle and nerve functions.

Talk to Dr. Cohen at his San Francisco office to discuss any questions you may have about chiropractic care.
4/29/11

Updated Post: I received an email from the chiropractor on the show and he clarified that an exam and assessment was done prior to adjusting the patient.  He pointed out that “the exam part doesn’t make for exciting television,” although he wished it would have been included. I agree and want to emphasize that I did not mean to offend or disparage him in any way.  I was criticizing the portrayal of chiropractic as simply moving bones for cracks, because good chiropractors, and I include the chiropractor from the show,  do much more than that.