In recovery from sports concussions, state of mind really does matter

When a student-athlete suffers a concussion, one of their biggest concerns is getting back to the playing field as soon as they are well. While the physical symptoms of their brain injury may fade after a week or two, for a small minority of them the emotional recovery is longer and more complicated.Researchers at UCLA have been taking a closer look at the psychological aspects of recovery from head injuries and have recently begun a program that integrates a common type of talk therapy as part of their treatment for athletes with lingering emotional impacts after their injuries.“Generally speaking, the psychological aspects of concussion are under recognized,” said Doug Polster, a postdoctoral fellow in sport neuropsychology for theUCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Program. “Many health care professionals either do not have the time or are not fully trained to check for depression symptoms, and if the patient’s symptoms are below the threshold for clinical depression, they can be missed.”Most people who suffer a concussion will recover from their physical injury in a week to several weeks. But for some, concussion injuries produce a set of symptoms, both physical (headaches, dizziness, sensitivity to noise and light), and psychological (anxiety, depression and social isolation) that can last much longer than a few weeks.One of the most common psychological symptoms reported by athletes, Polster said, is feeling isolated  from their team, after they’ve been instructed ...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news