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Shockbox Helmet Sensor: A Concussion Alert System

Using technology developed for use by the U.S. military in combat helmets as a springboard, a Canadian company, Impakt Protective Inc., recently introduced a revolutionary head impact sensor called ShockboxTM. Installed in a player's helmet, the sensor triggers an alert on a smart phone any time a player suffers an "at risk" hit that may be concussive.

Concussion Recovery: Craniosacral Therapy and Feldenkrais Method May Help

Craniosacral therapy and the Feldenkrais Method can help concussion recovery, says Edward Feldman, D.C., RCST.

Unmarked Detour: Unprepared Despite Multiple Concussion History

Although her daughter Heidi had suffered multiple concussions in the past (one in second grade during recreational skating, the second more serious concussion in a collision with a softball teammate in ninth grade), and despite thinking she was "concussion savvy," Dorothy Bedford says that, three to four weeks after Heidi suffered a third concussion warming up for an ice hockey game during her junior year in high school, she was unprepared for the "mysterious journey" that lay ahead for both of them.

Unmarked Detour: Early In Concussion Recovery Pain Killers Helped For Headaches And Sleep

Early in her daughter Heidi's concussion recovery, pain killers (Tylenol and prescription medications, Percocet, Toradol), which numbed her headaches and helped her overcome the sleep disturbances associated with her concussion, says Dorothy Bedford.

Unmarked Detour: Long Concussion Journey Begins Before Puck Even Drops

After sustaining a series of hits to her head during the previous week's training, Heidi Taggart asked her ice hockey coach to be excused from goaltending during a game in February 2010 when she began experiencing "flu-like" symptoms.  He told her to "suck it up" and take the ice. During pre-game warm-ups, a teammate's stick hit Heidi in the head during the follow-through from a wrist shot.  She immediately began experiencing concussion symptoms (headache, disorientation, drowsiness), but the injury was not initially thought to be too serious.   It was anything but. As her mom, Dorothy Bedford, now recalls, the road Heidi travelled from that Friday night on the way to recovery from post-concussion syndrome would be marked by a long series of "unmarked detours" taking fourteen months and requiring treatment from more than 10 different medical specialists.

Unmarked Detour: EEG and MRI No Help in Treating Concussion

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.

Unmarked Detour: Concussion Conference At Fenway Park Pays Off

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.

Unmarked Detour: Lengthy Concussion Recovery Disrupted Family

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.

Cognitive Rest After Concussion Critical To Avoiding Extended Recovery

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.

Unmarked Detour: Mild Aerobic Exercise Helped Recovery From Post-Concussion Syndrome

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.
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