This week's lead article, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia: Highly Effective and Easily Accessible, is in the Self Care category.

A hand pointing at a drawing with text that explains cognitive behavioral therapy

In this newsletter: Opportunities, Sports, Pathophysiology, Self Care, Therapies Currently Available, Mental Health, and Youth.

We appreciate the Concussion Alliance volunteers, leadership team members, and staff members who created this edition:
Writers: Keya Mookencherry, Sravya Valiveti, Aamy Woldesenbet, Susan Klein, Hannah Hartmann, and Nancy Cullen

Editors: Conor Gormally and Malayka Gormally

Do you find the Concussion Update helpful? If so, forward this to a friend and suggest they subscribe.

Opportunities

Friday, October 6, 9 am PST: A free webinar, Traumatic Brain Injury and Early Education Population, presented by Juliet Haarbauer-Krupa, PhD, and hosted by the Center on Brain Injury Research and Training. Register in advance.

Tuesday, October 10, 6-7 pm EDT: A free webinar, Management of Insurance, presented by Dr. Charmody Laughton & Dr. Carmela Tartaglia and hosted by the Canadian Concussion Centre. Register in advance.

Friday, October 13, 8–9 am PST: A free webinar, Return to Learn After Concussion: A Canadian Perspective, presented by Nick Reed, MScOT, PhD. Hosted by The Center on Brain Injury Research and Training. Register in advance.

Participants needed for a study using an app to combat depression after concussion. The app provides online activities based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) principles. Eligibility: individuals 18-70 years old with a history of concussion. See our blog post for more information.

Friday, October 27, 9 am - 12:00 pm PDT: A free online workshop, Mental Health and Trauma-informed Care presented by The Center on Brain Injury Research and Training. Register in advance.

Nov. 30 & Dec. 1: attend (in-person or virtually) the 7th Annual CTE Conference hosted by the Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. Register in advance. $100 for virtual attendance.

Sports

Increased profile of “Q-Collar” invites further discussion

Blog

The Q-collar is commonly referred to as a concussion-prevention method, although the company says the Q-collar helps “protect the brain” of contact athletes over a season of play. However, limitations include not being “demonstrated to prevent long-term cognitive function deficits,” no evaluation of clinical outcome impacts, and the data not “demonstrating that the device can prevent concussion or serious brain injury.”

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Pathophysiology

Hypertension associated with twice as long recovery, increased risk for persisting symptoms

Blog

New research from NYU Langone Health reveals that a diagnosis of hypertension in those who received concussion care was strongly linked to a longer concussion recovery period compared to those without hypertension. The data also showed that hypertension was related to an increased likelihood of a post-concussion syndrome diagnosis.

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Self-Care

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia: Highly Effective and Easily Accessible

Blog

In this New York Times article, Christina Caron discusses one of the most effective therapy treatments: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). However, it’s not only used in clinical psychology––but also to treat a common experience: insomnia. Most people have experienced insomnia at one point in their life or another. However, for some, insomnia is a constant in their lives; one in 10 adults has chronic insomnia, and it is a common symptom after a concussion.

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Therapies Currently Available

Insights about sleep-wake disturbances after concussion

Blog

A review article by Stefanie Howell in the Psychiatric Times provides information to identify sleep-wake disturbances after traumatic brain injury (TBI), along with current diagnostic and treatment strategies. Although Howell writes generally about TBI (presumably of all severities), she notes that sleep-wake disturbances may develop after mild TBI (concussion), and several of the studies she references are specifically about mild TBI.

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Mental Health

Satisfaction with quality of life postconcussion may reduce the risk of lower extremity musculoskeletal injuries; more studies needed

Blog

A recent study in the Journal of Athletic Training explored the role of mental health in predicting lower extremity musculoskeletal injuries (LE MSK) after sports-related concussions in NCAA student-athletes. Previous research has found that the rate of LE MSK is elevated post-concussion, although the cause of this increased rate is unknown. In addition, poorer mental health is common post-concussion.

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Youth

Children at elevated risk for posttraumatic headache months after a concussion

Blog

Some people recover quickly from headache after concussion, but others take much longer. How do we know as soon as possible what will be the case for someone who has had a concussion? A recent study in Cephalalgia by Marbil and colleagues tracked the progression of headaches over time in children after a new concussion. They found that post-concussion headaches were common and were more severe in those with a history of headache prior to concussion.

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