Concussion Depression Link and BCST
The NFL has been increasingly in the news lately – not just sports news, but medical news – because of growing awareness of the enormous problem of head injury in professional football. Repeatedly concussed retired NFL players suffer disproportionately from a frightening range of emotional and neurological illnesses, ranging from depression to dementia to Parkinson’s to ALS.
It turns out, though, that concussion consequences are by no means confined to the pros. High school football players have actually died as a result of head or spinal injuries suffered on the field. And college players, of course, are not exempt, as this article about the concussion/depression link shows:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/09/concussion-depression-college-athletes-study_n_7034918.html
This sort of thing is of special interest to me, because biodynamic craniosacral therapy (BCST) can play a significant role in recovery from concussion, as well as non-concussion-related anxiety and depression. Check out this first-person account:
http://katherineriggs.co.uk/2013/06/05/a-week-of-craniosacral-results-day-3-concussion/
Though Ms. Riggs refers to her treatment simply as “craniosacral,” if you click on the link she includes regarding the friend who treated her, you will discover that he is a biodynamic craniosacral therapist. Ms. Riggs’ session with him was unusually dramatic, and was probably related to the fact that she saw her BCST very soon after her injury. Most people do not experience “huge jolts of electricity” coursing through their bodies during their BCST session; sessions are typically relaxing and peaceful, more reflective of the “dream-like state,” warmth, and connectedness she mentions. That said, the body will do what it needs to do to work through the things that happen to us.