ManuVision body therapy treats the long-term effects of a concussion by helping you reconnect with the body’s signals and restore balance in the nervous system.
Approximately 25,000 people suffer a concussion each year. Fortunately, the majority recover quickly, but 10–15% still experience symptoms after a year—and some continue to have difficulties for even longer.
- What can be frustrating for those experiencing long-term effects after a concussion is that, statistically, there is no clear correlation between the severity of the accident and how difficult the recovery process will be. This is also one of the factors that makes it challenging to understand how best to recover.
Det forklarer Manuvision kropsterapeut og partner Filip Rankenberg, som har 23 års erfaring bl.a. med at behandle senfølger efter en hjernerystelse. I to videoer giver Filip råd og øvelser, der kan afhjælpe senfølger efter en hjernerystelse:
When the brain is under strain, it becomes less able to listen to the body, making it harder to adjust your activities to match your actual energy levels. As a result, it’s easier to overexert yourself and put too much strain on the body.
The Brain in an “Energy Crisis”
After a concussion, the brain enters what can be described as an “energy crisis.” Normally, the brain uses energy to regulate the body, but in this state, it needs more of that energy just to take care of itself. In other words, it becomes less able to monitor and respond to what is happening in the rest of the body.
- When the brain is under strain, it becomes less able to listen to the body, making it harder to adjust your activities to your actual energy levels. As a result, it’s easier to overexert yourself and place too much strain on the body.
Delayed Signals from the Body
From a body-therapeutic perspective, one way to understand the experience of long-term effects after a concussion is that the brain and nervous system are out of sync. This means that the signals the body sends when it is under strain are delayed in reaching conscious awareness. As a result, it becomes difficult to sense your limits in time.
- After a long workday, we can usually feel when it’s time to rest. However, if you are experiencing long-term effects after a concussion, these signals are significantly delayed, and you may not always notice the body’s signals in time.
This delay has significant consequences for recovery after a concussion, as the brain needs to conserve its energy.
- Many people find themselves caught in a kind of vicious cycle. Some end up pushing their bodies too hard because they struggle to sense their limits and do too much, while others become anxious and end up doing too little.
Body therapy helps people become more aware of and better understand their body’s signals. They develop a more nuanced and sensitive awareness of what is happening internally. This makes it easier to notice things in time and avoid the small and large stresses that can otherwise become overwhelming
Body Therapy Treatment
Body therapy has proven to be beneficial in treating the long-term effects of a concussion. This is closely linked to its ability to help people reconnect with and become more aware of the body’s signals.
- Body therapy helps people become more aware of and better understand their body’s signals. They develop a more refined and sensitive awareness of what is happening internally. This makes it easier to notice things in time and avoid both small and large strains that can otherwise become overwhelming.
- In treatment, we also work to identify people’s blind spots—those moments when they are not aware of their own limits—and explore their role in the persistence of post-concussion symptoms. In this way, we help people become more conscious of what puts strain on the brain and body, so they can better support their own recovery.
We help balance the nervous system by, among other things, releasing tension in the neck and the muscles involved in breathing. We also provide people with tools to work with their breathing and calm the nervous system on their own.
Balancing the Nervous System
The risk of long-term effects after a concussion is significantly higher if you are already experiencing stress. This is because a strained nervous system is more vulnerable to additional stressors. At the same time, the nervous system itself often enters a state of stress after a concussion, as it can be stressful not being able to function as you normally would.
In body therapy, we work directly with this stress load by helping to balance the nervous system.
- We help balance the nervous system by, among other things, releasing tension in the neck and the muscles involved in breathing. We also provide people with tools to work with their breathing and calm the nervous system on their own.