For decades, I have seen children who have had one or more concussions during their lives. They usually had a sports trauma, experienced constant pain, and been to multiple medical providers without finding an answer.
The Gillespie Approach may help because we uniquely look at the function of the craniosacral fascial system. Very few health-care providers evaluate this system and understand its importance to concussions. The brain has to breathe well by expanding and contracting, and the fascial web needs to be free for the body to function optimally.
In 1980, I saw a potential minefield of boy trauma and told my five-year-old son all of his future off-limits sports and activities. I wanted to make smart life decisions for him. Now, as a result, at 48 years of age, he does not have to deal with the negative effects of a lot of old injuries.
Seeing a big-picture life lesson, I would strongly suggest that these concussion children eliminate all potentially traumatic activities after therapy. I understand that they are young and active, but chronic pain is forcing them to make serious adult decisions in life.
When a child presents with a concussion, I cannot predict the number of visits and estimated cost of therapy. I am not even sure if it can even be fully corrective. The key factor is that the Gillespie Approach does not heal the brain but just reestablishes excellent neurophysiology to give the brain the best chance to heal itself.
Even with recovery, the child may continue this traumatic behavior while thinking therapy would “fix” all future concussions. I ask these two questions:
- Why would you return to that activity? Since brain trauma is cumulative, you want your brain to last for a lifetime.
- Do concussions in youth lead to a greater possibility of dementia later in life?
We all need to ask these questions.
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