Run TOWARDS the Fire?

June 3, 2019

After suffering a concussion in February, 2018, Yankees outfielder Clint Frazier was told to stay in a dark, quiet room and sleep as often as possible.  The usual, right?  But, after 7 months and not much improvement, Frazier sought out the help of a different doctor, from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's sports medicine concussion program, known to be "at the forefront of sports concussion research, treatment and rehabilitation."   This new doctor prescribed the opposite -- exposure to loud noises, bright lights and hordes of people.

The new treatment worked well for Frazier, who said, "The more active I am, the better I feel. The less active I am, the more the symptoms kind of take over my day."

Wild stuff!  But so many things in Functional Medicine are handled in the opposite way from Conventional Medicine:

• GERD is viewed as the result of too little stomach acid as opposed to too much

• eczema is treated from the inside out instead of with topical creams

• soft-tissue injuries are treated with "MEAT" (movement, exercise, analgesics and treatments) as opposed to "RICE" (rest, ice, compression, elevation)

and with amazing results -- that this unconventional approach seems worth consideration to me. 

Frazier is having a good season so far this year.  You can read more about his treatment here. 

I am certainly not saying you should run to the nearest rock concert if you or your child get a concussion -- but it might be worth a discussion with your doctor.