Concussion Management in Burlington

Pillars of Wellness, located in Burlington, Aldershot, specializes in treating concussions and other traumatic brain injuries. Our clinic focuses on treating concussions that result from head traumas, whether they are mild (not requiring emergency care) or acute (requiring emergency care).

What is a concussion?

A concussion, it’s a trauma caused to the head due to a fall or an accident of some sort. It is usually a hard hit on the head.

Our team of physiotherapists and occupational therapists can assess your signs and symptoms, review your medical history, and complete a full neurological examination (which includes testing for cognitive function and balance). We’ll rule out any other injuries as we complete the concussion diagnosis. Note that it’s possible for signs and symptoms to take several days to appear.

Your assessment may require hospitalization overnight for observation after your concussion. During and after treatment, we’ll work with you to gradually re-introduce you to daily activities, without posing a risk to your health.

What are the signs and symptoms of a concussion?

Common symptoms of a traumatic brain injury are headache, loss of memory (amnesia), and confusion. It may take several hours or days for concussion symptoms to appear. Symptoms can last for days, weeks, or longer.

If you suspect a concussion, avoid any activities that can cause or increase symptoms. These include activities that can increase heart rate or involve forceful muscle contractions (like weightlifting).

Immediate Symptoms

Delayed Symptoms

Child Symptoms

If you are experiencing any of the following symptoms, check with your local hospital or family doctor as soon as possible, then feel free to call our Burlington clinic to arrange an appointment as we are specialized in concussion management.

Headache or a feeling of pressure in the head
Temporary loss of consciousness
Confusion or feeling as if in a fog
Amnesia surrounding the traumatic event
Dizziness or "seeing stars"
Ringing in the ears
Nausea
Vomiting
Slurred speech
Delayed response to questions
Appearing dazed
Fatigue

You might see some concussion symptoms immediately. Others might not appear for hours or days after injury, like:

Sensitivity to noise and light
Trouble with memory and concentration
Sudden irritability and other personality changes
Psychological adjustment problems and depression
Sleep disturbances
Disorders of taste and smell

While it’s common for children to experience head trauma, it can often be difficult to recognize in infants and toddlers. Watch for these symptoms in your child, especially after any head trauma:

Appearing dazed
Listlessness and tiring easily
Irritability and crankiness
Loss of balance and unsteady walking
Crying excessively
Change in eating or sleeping patterns
Lack of interest in favorite toys

How can we help you recover from a concussion?

Here are some exams that our practitioners may perform on you, depending on the time and magnitude of your traumatic brain injury and the severity of your symptoms. This involves the testing of cognitive functions not as a means of curing the brain trauma, but rather as a means to determine or characterize cognitive functions:

Speed

Memory

Processing time

Concentration

In relation to an acceptable baseline for a normal individual, involving the use of various types of testing such as Paced Auditory Serial Attention Test, Trail Making and Digit Symbol Substitution. Which are used to measure:

Slowed reaction times and increased variability in response

Reduced attention and ability to process information

Impaired memory and learning

Reduced planning and ability to switch mental set

At Pillars of Wellness, the prominent and most significant advice our practitioners will give to you is REST—as this is the bedrock of all concussion management and recovery. We advise and insist that all our patients rest from any strenuous physical and mental activities following the occurrence of a traumatic brain injury. This is especially true for athletes engaged in contact sports, or sports with massive potential for a head injury.

The reason behind this constant warning is that there is a likelihood of you developing what we call a second-impact syndrome (SIS) which in most cases can lead to prolonged symptoms, delayed recovery and in most cases permanent brain damage. Serious care should be taken in cases that involve teenagers or kids because at this stage the brain isn’t fully developed yet and that is why concussion recovery in younger individuals takes more time than it does with adults.

When in the resting phase, it is advised that you stay away from watching television, or using your cellular phones, reading, texting and in some cases—depending on the severity of your concussion—our practitioners will recommend that you completely avoid school and any form of school work, pending the time all symptoms have completely subsided.

Here at Pillars of Wellness, our practitioners work closely with you in gradually re-introducing you back to your work or physical activities with close monitoring and evaluation until you are completely fit to carry on with your daily activities without any health risk.

One area most other clinics and hospitals don’t pay much attention to is the area of pain relief medications. Now it is understandable that during the recovery phase, you might have to go through a varying amount of headaches and in some cases, migraines.

Which is why we take extreme care in prescribing pain relief medications that not only helps in alleviating the pain but also ones that don’t negate the efficacy of your recovery or worse still precipitate a neural breakdown—(this is particularly true when you are already on a different medication).

Book An Appointment

How to prepare for your Concussion Management appointment?

It’s always important to see a doctor in case of a jolt to your head, whether it’s a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) or more acute brain injury. Call to schedule an appointment if you’re in doubt about your head trauma.

Here are a few pointers to help you prepare for your appointment:

5Avoid physical or mental activities that can worsen your head injury.
5Avoid any sports or activities that can put a strain on your heart. These prevent us from getting an accurate prognosis.
5Make a concise list of all symptoms observed. See above for a full list.
5Bring a record of your medical history, whether or not items are related to the concussion.
5Bring a list of your current medications, whether they are taken pre- or post-injury.
5The diagnostic experience can be overwhelming. Don’t hesitate to attend your appointment with someone you trust.

Why choose
Pillars of Wellness?

At Pillars of Wellness, in Burlington, Ontario, we are proud to provide a truly integrated care approach that employs a variety of treatments to achieve a faster recovery. Our clinic offers different services such as chiropractic care, naturopathy, counselling, speech therapy, occupational therapy, yoga therapy, acupuncture, holistic nutrition, and physiotherapy.

With multiple diverse services and specialties in one place, you’ll get the best care possible — without having to look elsewhere. Pillars of Wellness is your one-stop-health solution, located right here in Burlington.

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Flexibility and accommodation to make your appointment viable and fit to your schedule

Highly recommended for everyone who is looking for friendly, warm and very professional help in physiotherapy. Flexibility and accommodation to make your appointment viable and fit to your schedule. Warm, new and clean environment going very well together with informative and friendly, professional personnel. My therapy clinical notes, invoices and appointment reminders were also available on line and on time. Khizar, Nancy, Thank you.

Feeling better by the day. Thank you so much!

This is the first time I give a review. I cannot say enough about this clinic. They are really amazing. Friendly, great customer service and helped me with a condition I have for years. Feeling better by the day. Thank you so much!

I was very impressed by their customer service and professionalism

I recently used Pillars of Wellness services for my injuries. I was very impressed by their customer service and professionalism. The first time I came to do my assessment, the owner, the physiotherapist and the chiropractor sat with me to help me figure out the best way to feel better and faster. I spent 6 weeks with on-going treatment using different modalities. The end result was no more pain and I was able to move again!! Thank you so much for your help. I highly recommend this clinic to anyone.

Summing it up Pillars of Wellness is a well run top notch health clinic!

Lori and Laurent Pinci who run Pillars of Wellness along with their team are very professional and efficient. They make you feel welcome with a smile and kind words every time you walk through their doors. They truly care. We have not yet had the need to experience the many other services that Pillars of Wellness offers, but if we ever did, we definitely would not hesitate to use them.

I’m feeling very supported during my recovery….

On the advice of a friend, I reached out and booked a series of appointments with their occupational therapist, Lori; physiotherapist, Abida; and their naturopath, Dr. Galantai to help with recovering from a concussion. It has been an excellent experience! They are all incredible practitioners.

This is the first time I’ve ever experienced a longer term injury and their genuine, individualized care has really lessened my stress. I’m feeling very supported during my recovery and highly recommend their clinic. I credit my continual improvement to the holistic way I’m getting treatment for my symptoms and am very grateful.

I went to different clinics I finally found one worth going to.

Friendly, caring and professionals like nothing I have seen around Aldershot//Burlington. Attentive to the needs of their patients. They take the time to listen. Beautiful and well designed clinic that is extremely well maintained. I have had two car accidents in the last year and I went to different clinics I finally found one worth going to.