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Concussion Management for Healthcare Professionals: Summary
CASE STUDY
A 30-year-old woman named Alice, who works at a grocery store as a cashier, was involved in a car crash and sustained a mild concussion. She had symptoms of neck pain, a headache, and a little dizziness initially, but the symptoms resolved themselves fairly quickly. The next day, she was feeling better but still complained of a headache and some neck pain. Alice has a previous history of multiple concussions in which she has had recovery times as short as 5 days, but she has also had concussions that have taken as long as 6 months to recover. Alice is not sure exactly how many concussions she has had previously because some of the concussions have not been diagnosed. Due to her symptoms, she feels that she has had concussions that have gone undiagnosed. Over the next couple of days, Alice states that she is having a headache and neck pain but no other true symptoms of a concussion. With Alice’s previous experiences of concussions, she doesn’t feel that this concussion is very severe. Alice feels that she could go back to all of her normal activities, but she is still a little worried about her neck pain. As a healthcare professional, how would you go about determining what form of care Alice would need going forward? a. As an athletic trainer, you evaluate Alice and determine she has some facets that are stuck, which is causing pain, and you test her by increasing her heart rate, in which she does not show signs of increasing symptoms. b. A physical therapist determines that the muscles of the neck are strained due to the force of whiplash, and you determined that Alice will have her neck treated. c. An occupational therapist would look at how Alice could continue working as a cashier. They suggest that the taking of breaks, stretching, and possibly using a neck brace could help her return to the workforce. d. These healthcare practitioners could work in collaboration to help Alice recover from her mild concussion. If all healthcare providers collaborate, they can help manage Alice’s care and provide expertise in each of their respective fields. Athletic trainers have a unique skill set of evaluating and managing concussions that happen to athletes. Physical therapists are experts at helping to heal the body and could help Alice heal from her neck issues. An occupational therapist would be able to help Alice return to work safely and provide her with some suggestions on modifications to the workplace that would allow her to return comfortably. Health care providers working in conjunction, determining whether a concussion is apparent or whether it might be a neck injury, would most likely allow the best chance for Alice to be managed appropriately as each healthcare professional has a different expertise. Physicians, neurologists, concussion specialists, and chiropractors could also help when collaborating on mTBI’s.
WORKS CITED https://qr2.mobi/concussion-mgmt
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