Brain Injury

In addition to causing acute headaches or head pain and pressure, a concussion can result in significant brain malfunction including: fatigue, sound sensitivity, light sensitivity, nausea, memory loss, impaired speech, motor dysfunction, difficulty concentrating, difficulty making decisions, dizziness, feeling off-balance, confusion, irritability, mood swings, depression, insomnia, loss of motivation, and decreased libido. Patients who’ve experienced a concussion or more severe brain injury have one or many more of these post-concussive symptoms although some of them may look absolutely normal to the public. Mainstream practitioners, including many neurologists, prescribe patients a polypharmacy of medications (including SSRIs, pain medications, muscle relaxers including Baclofen or Botox, sleeping meds like Trazodone or Ambien, or nerve medications such as Gabapentin, Lyrica, or Neurotin) with little actual long-term healing benefit for the brain injury patient. Some patients are eventually told to see a psychiatrist or counselor and encourage them to learn to cope with the effects of their brain injury.

At Aspen Integrative Medicine, Dr. Hughes and associates address the root metabolic crisis that results because of a concussion and brain injury. The treatments provided by Aspen Integrative Medicine (through TBI Therapy) include hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which is provides the primary nutrient, oxygen, in a pressured manner at up to 10x the normal inhaled levels, to decrease neuroinflammation, increase blood flow, encourage autophagy, increase serotonin, and resolve the metabolic crisis of a brain injury.

Intranasal insulin (IN insulin) is a powerful therapy to help with patients who suffer from concussion and traumatic brain injuries. Intranasal insulin has been shown to reduce neuroinflammation, decrease cortisol levels, improve glucose utilization, increase ATP production, increase neurogenesis, reduce tau and amyloid deposits, and improve alpha waves on QEEG. IN insulin, clinically, has been shown to improve balance, enhance word recall, decrease head pain, and reduce perceived levels of stress.

Intranasal PRP (aka as platelet rich plasma or bioactive plasma cocktail) derived from the patient’s own blood is also effective at helping patients with brain injury. IN PRP and IN PBSCs (Peripheral blood stem cells) treatments for brain injury aid the brain and central nervous system in the following ways:

• Brain collagen regeneration, a type of protein that strengthens and builds.
• Reduce the amount of amyloid protein, which leads to memory loss.
• Stimulate the formation of new blood vessels.
• Reduce inflammation in the brain, affecting its function.
• Specifically target and activate stem cells to promote regeneration and differentiation.

Adjunctive Therapies: Osteopathic manual therapy (OMT) is also very helpful in managing patients with brain injury, brain degeneration, and to improve overall brain health. OMT works to balance the cerebrospinal fluid and increase its amplitude for greater nourishment of the brain and spinal cord. Red light therapy (including the VieLight) and low level laser therapy are excellent therapies for enhancing the brain’s metabolic activity and to calm inflammation. Alpha-Stim therapy and binaural sound therapy enhance the brain’s ability to function in a relaxed, efficient manner. Dietary and nutritional therapies, such as ketogenic and low glycemic diets reduce oxidative stress and improve GABA, a calming neurotransmitter. Neurofeedback can also be very beneficial in calming stress, anxiety, and helping to balance out beta, alpha, theta, delta, and even gamma brainwaves for overall brain health and enhanced neuroplasticity.