Traumatic Brain Injury and Chiropractic

Traumatic brain injury is a change in typical brain function that affects neurologic function after some sort of external force to the head (1). Annually there is around 170,000 children and adolescents, who have sports and recreation-related traumatic brain injuries (2). Have you or a loved one experience a traumatic brain injury or participating in sports or activities that may increase the risk of injury? This is an important article that can make the world of difference to you.
 
“More than 450,000 Australians have a brain injury, and almost 3 out of 4 people with brain injury are under 65 in Australia” (3,4)


There is now a greater awareness of potential short and long term sequelae of athletes who suffer brain injuries, such as increased propensity to reinjure, cognitive slowing, early onset Alzheimer’s, second impact syndrome etc (5-8). With youth sport participation continuing to grow, the incidence of brain injury is proportionally increasing as well (2).
Although symptoms can vary depending on the area of the brain that is injured, visual symptoms are common following, even mild traumatic brain injuries, as many areas of the brain is involved with processing vision and control of the eyes (9). Visual symptoms can include oculomotor dysfunction including disorders of convergence and accommodation, poorer fixation, slower or less accurate saccades, poorer pursuit movements, and modification of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (10). Can chiropractic be a part of the recovery management of post traumatic brain injuries?

In a recent research literature, 40 young adults with persistent post concussion syndrome following mild traumatic brain injury, took part in a single-blind, randomised controlled intervention study. They were randomly allocated to either chiropractic care or active control intervention. The change in computerised eye-tracker assessment outcomes following intervention were looked at. The computerised eye tracker assessment included egocentric localisation, fixation stability, pursuit, saccades, stroop, and the vestibulo-ocular reflex. These markers were used to assess oculomotor function, visual attention/processing, and selective attention. It was found that the participants who received chiropractic care had significantly improved static and dynamic gaze stability and performance in the Stroop test, compared with a control intervention (11). The results suggests that chiropractic can help with management by alleviating certain visual and cognitive symptoms. Though it’s a small sample size and larger studies would be helpful in further substantiating these findings, the results so far are quite positive.

So if you want to find out if chiropractic care may help assist traumatic brain injury recovery for you or your loved ones, have a chat with one of our chiropractors to see how they can assist.
 
“It’s important to get your body as healthy as possible for the best recovery from any injury”
 
 
1. Cassidy JD, Carroll LJ, Peloso PM, et al. Incidence, risk factors and prevention of mild traumatic brain injury: results of the WHO Collaborating Centre Task Force on Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. J Rehabil Med. 2004:(43 suppl):28-60. https://doi.org/10.1080/16501960410023732.
2. Gilchrist, J., Thomas, K.E., Xu, L., McGuire, L.C. and Coronado, V.G., 2011. Nonfatal sports and recreation related traumatic brain injuries among children and adolescents treated in emergency departments in the United States, 2001–2009. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep, 60(39), pp.1337-1342.
3.Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2023.
4.Australia Institute of Health and Welfare, 2007.
5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1997. Sports-related recurrent brain injuries--United States. MMWR: Morbidity and mortality weekly report, 46(10), pp.224-227.
6. McCrory, P.R. and Berkovic, S.F., 1998. Second impact syndrome. Neurology, 50(3), pp.677-683.
7. Jordan, B.D., Relkin, N.R., Ravdin, L.D., Jacobs, A.R., Bennett, A. and Gandy, S., 1997. Apolipoprotein E∈ 4 associated with chronic traumatic brain injury in boxing. Jama, 278(2), pp.136-140.
8. De Beaumont, L., Lassonde, M., Leclerc, S. and Théoret, H., 2007. Long-term and cumulative effects of sports concussion on motor cortex inhibition. Neurosurgery, 61(2), pp.329-337.
9. Merezhinskaya, N., Mallia, R.K., Park, D., Bryden, D.W., Mathur, K. and Barker, F.M., 2019. Visual deficits and dysfunctions associated with traumatic brain injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Optometry and Vision Science, 96(8), pp.542-555.
10. Cade, A. and Turnbull, P.R., 2022. Clinical testing of mild traumatic brain injury using computerised eye-tracking tests. Clinical and experimental optometry, 105(7), pp.680-686.
11. Cade, A.E. and Turnbull, P.R., 2024. Effect of Chiropractic Intervention on Oculomotor and Attentional Visual Outcomes in Young Adults With Long-Term Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 47(1-4), pp.1-11.