feature Laser Therapy for Concussion Shining light on brain injury “ hank you for giving my son back to me.” Four years after an unsuccessful bicycle trick knocked this young man unconscious, he was still suffering from frequent headaches, stiff neck, disturbed sleep patterns, poor con-centration and irritability. He dropped out of school, lost his part-time job, started drinking and generally sinking into a form of depression. He had all the signs and symptoms of a mild traumatic brain injury, also known as post-concussion syndrome, and was sliding down a slippery slope of self-destruction. Over a period of six months, the patient received a course of Low Level Laser Therapy treatments, which resulted in a complete turnaround in the patient’s outlook of life. He re-enrolled in school and was doing very well with his school work. He had resumed a part-time job and also his trick cycling. His mother expressed her appreciation for this complete change: “Thank you for giving my son back to me.” Today, he appears to be a happy and healthy 20-year-old. T MILD TRAUMATIC BRAIN INjURY AND POST-CONCUSSION SYNDROME Within the next hour, six Canadians will suffer a traumatic brain injury. 1 Traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is thought to occur when an external force injures the brain, either through direct impact or by acceleration/deceleration alone. Concussions, or other forms of mild TBIs, make up 75 per cent of all brain injuries. 2 In ad-dition to the initial damage caused at the moment of impact, brain trauma can cause second-ary injuries, in which a series of events takes place, in the minutes and days following the trauma. These processes, which include alterations in cerebral blood flow, poor oxygenation and heightened intracranial pressure, contribute substantially to the damage from the initial injury. Symptoms of TBI are diverse and complex and vary with the degree of injury, namely mild, moderate or severe. They can also have a delayed onset of minutes or even days, follow-ing the injury. Usual complaints for mild TBIs include headaches, neck pain with stiffness, dizziness, nausea, poor balance, fatigue, apathy, light and sound sensitivity, visual disturbances, Ben Yuen, DC, MSc, MCC(UK) Fred Kahn, MD, FRCS(C) Dr. Benjamin Yuen received his BSc from the University of To-ronto and an MSc from Bridge-port University. He completed his chiropractic training at Anglo European College of Chiropractic in Bournemouth, U.K., and has been a practising chiropractor for 34 years. He has also served four years as Director, Post Graduate and Continuing Education Divi-sion, at CMCC. Please feel free to contact Dr. Yuen at [email protected] or www.alphalaserchiroclinic.com. 14 • CANADiAN CHiROPRACTOR | APRiL 2013 Dr. Fred Kahn graduated from the University of Toronto and obtained his surgical fellow-ship in Canada and the United States. For 18 years prior to initiating research in LLLT, he conducted a surgical practice in Southern Calif. and also served as Chief of Staff in Costa Mesa, CA. Dr. Kahn operates Canada’s largest laser therapy clinic with two locations in Toronto. Please feel free to contact Dr. Kahn at [email protected] or www.bioflexlaser.com. Fernanda Saraga, PhD Dr. Fernanda Saraga holds an Hon. BSc in physics and a PhD in physiology from the University of Toronto. She has lectured at York University and the University of Toronto. Earlier this year, Dr. Saraga received a travel award at this year’s North American Association of Light Therapy con-ference for her abstract entitled Low intensity Laser Therapy for Post-Concussion Syndrome: A Case Study. Please feel free to contact Dr. Saraga at fernanda@ bioflexlaser.com. www.canadianchiropractor.ca
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