Concussion Management at Antegrade Health

Dr Jeff Rogers provides a complete evidence-based program for the detection, evaluation and clinical management of head knocks, injuries and concussions. Using clinical evaluation and advanced brain health neuroscreening technology, developed by our technology partner NeuroFlex®, Dr Jeff Rogers identifies and assesses the impact of each injury.

This information, in conjunction with a clinical evaluation, enables our team to provide you with an objective explanation and recommendations, so you can be confident of when and how to return to work, learning, sport, and other daily activities.

If a more serious injury is detected, we can develop a targeted management plan and monitor your progress using data from your own brain to improve results and recovery timelines.

When someone experiences a blow to the head their brain twists and moves, which may result in a brain injury – the most common of these is concussion. Without accurate diagnosis and treatment, injuries such as concussion can result in immediate and long-term consequences.

• Concussion results from a blow to the head or body that causes the head to move quickly back and forth or for the brain to bounce or twist in the skull from this sudden movement. This results in impaired brain function that can affect your concentration, memory, balance, and coordination. 

• Falls are the most common cause of concussion; however, the condition is also common during participation in activities like cycling, skiing, and horse-riding, as well as in contact sports such as rugby, AFL, and soccer where blows to the head can occur through impact with equipment, the ground or other players.

• With appropriate assessment and management, the majority of concussion symptoms resolve within two to four weeks of injury, however some cases are more complicated.

Head injuries can cause swelling and bleeding in or around the brain that, if left untreated, can be fatal. It is important to monitor any head injuries in the hours afterwards and seek immediate care if symptoms worsen.

Approximately 1 in 5 cases of concussion will experience prolonged or worsening of symptoms. These more complicated cases are known as post-concussion syndrome. Symptoms include:

• Post-traumatic headaches: Lasting for weeks or months after injury

• Post-traumatic vertigo: A sense of spinning or dizziness which can last for weeks or months following an injury

• Further injuries/conditions: Returning to sports activities too soon can lead to repeat concussions, muscular skeletal injuries and mental health problems

• Long term neurodegeneration: In the long term, if the brain is not allowed to recover from a concussion there is evidence that it can increase the risk of cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s

• Second impact syndrome: In some cases, experiencing a second concussion before signs and symptoms of a first concussion have resolved may result in rapid and potentially fatal brain swelling

  Every person experiences concussion differently. The signs can be subtle and may not show up immediately, with some symptoms not appearing for hours or days after the injury. You may not realise you have concussion symptoms until you try and resume your normal daily activities.

Contact your GP or the nearest emergency department if you experience

• Significant nausea or repeated vomiting

• Loss of consciousness lasting longer than 30 seconds

• Weakness or numbness in the arms or legs

• Drowsiness or inability to be awakened

• Inability to recognise people or places

• Slurred speech

• Seizures (shaking or twitching)

If you have a suspected or confirmed concussion it is important to seek diagnosis and treatment from a specialist. A General Practitioner may not have sufficient training or access to accurate testing equipment to perform an appropriate assessment of your condition.

Make sure you keep track of any symptoms and share them with your treating clinician. Common symptoms include:

Physical symptoms

• Sensitivity to light or noise
• Dizziness or balance problems
• Listlessness and tiring easily
• Headaches
• Nausea or vomiting
• Visual problems (blurry, double vision)

Thinking/Memory

• Attention, memory, or concentration problems
• Feeling slowed down
• Foggy/groggy thinking
• Problems with memory
• Trouble thinking clearly

Social/Emotional

• Anxiety or nervousness
• Irritability and crankiness
• Feeling more emotional
• Sadness or feeling emotional

Sleep

• Sleeping more or less than      usual
• Trouble falling asleep

At Antegrade Health, our concussion program begins before an injury occurs, following a step-by-step process designed to support you through your recovery. The process has four stages:

1. Baseline Testing

Our program begins with a baseline assessment, this can be arranged independently or organised through a sporting club or school. Testing will evaluate your oculomotor function (that is, your coordinated eye and head movements) and overall brain health, identifying any weaknesses or issues. Your baseline results are used as a benchmark for re-testing in the case of injury and to track your ongoing recovery progress.

In certain cases, baseline testing may identify abnormal oculomotor function. We will flag any deviations or “outliers” from the standard population range, taking into account your age, medical history, and personal circumstances. While this is not the main purpose of baseline testing in concussion management, certain outliers are associated with conditions that can benefit from early intervention and support. Identifying these at an early stage enables pro-active treatment to prevent or reduce long term impacts to your health.

Abnormal oculomotor function can result from a range of issues including ADHD, autism, neurodevelopmental disorders and neurogenerative diseases. We offer a range of programs and services that can assist with these conditions. If testing uncovers a finding of concern Dr Jeff Rogers will be available to discuss follow up options.

2. Incident Response 

If a confirmed or suspected impact injury occurs, make a priority appointment for a follow-up with Dr Jeff Rogers. Make sure you rest, physically and mentally for the 24-48 hours following an incident.

3. Retesting and assessment

If you sustain a head knock it is important to make a follow-up appointment with Dr Jeff Rogers as soon as possible. During your appointment he will evaluate your condition and repeat the oculomotor function tests to identify any changes in function. He may also recommend additional testing to track your recovery process. This data is combined with a clinical assessment of your medical history and needs to tailor a customised rehabilitation plan.

4. Rehabilitation

You will receive a personalised rehabilitation plan based on best practice recovery principles and protocols. This will outline a stepwise progression of activities to safely return to everyday activities and sports. Dr Jeff Roges may also recommend one or more follow-up assessments to track your progress at different stages of recovery and revise your rehabilitation plan accordingly.

Our end-to-end concussion management program critically evaluates brain health over time providing you with:

Objective, quantitative measurements

Untreated concussion can result in long-term complications, so it’s important to evaluate the extent of any head injury and treat it appropriately.

Using brain health neuroscreening, Antegrade Health can provide you with objective measurements of brain function to keep you up to date on how you are progressing and when you are able to safely return to play and other daily activities.

Personalised rehabilitation plans

Longitudinal tracking means we can adjust your treatment protocols in response to your recovery using real-time data. This enables us to develop a completely flexible, personalised rehabilitation plan, delivering the best possible clinical outcomes and recovery timelines for students, athletes, and individuals from all walks of life.

Short- and long-term recovery tracking

Concussion can have long term symptoms; however, most concussion tests are only designed to examine the initial injury. This means there’s no way to know if someone is improving over time.

Brain health neuroscreening measures innate eye reflexes, which don’t lose accuracy or sensitivity over time. We can compare your results with your baseline assessment weeks and months after an injury to track your recovery every step of the way.

Scientifically backed results

Antegrade Health uses the latest neuroscreening technology developed by our technology partner, NeuroFlex®, the product of over 30 years of research in eye and head movement analysis.

Testing is integrated with a set of formal treatment protocols. Each stage in our program is based on peer reviewed research, so you can be confident that our assessments, reports, and recommendations are backed by scientific expertise.

Intelligent brain health technology that provides early and accurate detection of neurological conditions or injuries. Neuroscreening provides insights that enable us to develop a personalised management plan, supporting your recovery every step of the way.

Brain health neuroscreening combines clinical assessment with  evidence-based technology to objectively identify neural injuries, diseases, or disorders, and develop a personalised rehabilitation or ongoing management plan.

How it works

Part of our assessment process uses Virtual Reality technology, developed by NeuroFlex®, our technology partner, to provide scientifically validated and precise measurements of your brain function. This involves testing your head movement and eye-tracking reflexes to visual stimuli (known as your oculomotor response), enabling us to identify any weaknesses or developmental issues.

Oculomotor function is not only a reflection of brain health but also critical in ensuring your capacity to safely navigate your environment. This is particularly the case when you are moving at high speeds such as while participating in sports.

Testing results are analysed by Dr Jeff Rogers, enabling him to:

• Identify “outliers” that are scientifically linked to brain injuries and neurological disorders
• Longitudinally track your brain health over time to pinpoint changes resulting from head injuries or mental deterioration
• Assess the status of your brain health and develop a targeted treatment or rehabilitation plan

The testing process

Testing requires you to perform eight eye-tracking and head movement activities presented through a set of VR goggles. Each activity measures scientifically validated ocular motor skills and reflexes, which are recorded by the headset and analysed. These establish a longitudinal record of brain health and provide objective data on your individual oculomotor responses.

Findings are reviewed and compared with the standard population taking into account your age, medical history, and personal circumstances. The data enables your clinician to identify eye movement deficiencies and potential linkages to specific neurological disorders, so they can make targeted treatment recommendations.

Benefits of brain health neuroscreening

1. Objective, quantitative measurements

Traditionally diagnosis of neurological problems or injuries has been based on either neurological and cognitive examination or expensive imaging tests. While this information can be vital to proper care, it is prone to misdiagnosis.

In the case of neurological and cognitive examination, symptom measurement is often subjective, and unreliable over time. Brain imaging tests (such as an MRI) can identify structural damage, however, injuries such as concussion and post-concussion syndrome, may not involve any structural damage.

Our neuroscreening technology (developed by our partner NeuroFlex) is unique in that it provides objective and reliable measurements of brain function and health. Breakthrough algorithms allow our clinicians to measure and interpret eye and head movements more accurately than ever before, allowing an unprecedented level of precision and individualisation in brain health monitoring.

2. Personalised treatment plans

Longitudinal tracking means your clinician can adjust your treatment protocols in response to your recovery using real time data from your own brain. This enables us to develop flexible, personalised treatments that deliver better clinical outcomes and shorter recovery timelines.

3. Short- and long-term recovery tracking

With brain health neuroscreening, Antegrade Health can measure and assess the effect of treatments and rehabilitation exactly and observe effects in real time. Because the process measures pure reflexes, it doesn’t lose accuracy or sensitivity over time, so our clinicians can assess and manage long term symptoms, tracking your progress every step of the way.

4. Scientifically backed results

We use the latest brain health neuroscreening technology developed by our partner, NeuroFlex. It is based on over 30 years of research in eye and head movement analysis.

NeuroFlex results are integrated with a set of formal treatment protocols. Each stage in our program is based on peer reviewed research and individually mapped to a literature base, so you can be confident that our reports and recommendations are backed by scientific expertise.

Applications

Neuroscreening for concussion is an integrated end-to-end program for the clinical management of sporting incidents involving a potential brain injury.

Developed in collaboration between Dr Jeff Rogers and NeuroFlex®, the neuroscreening program uses clinical evaluation combined with advanced VR (Virtual Reality) neuroscreening technology to localise and measure the impact of head injuries. Results are combined with expert assessment and treatment, to accurately identify the impact on brain function, and develop a personalised rehabilitation plan.

We currently work with individual athletes, as well as a number of schools and sporting clubs to deliver best practice care and the best possible clinical outcomes for individuals.

Neuroscreening technology

Anegrade Health uses technology developed by NeuroFlex® for our Brain Health Neuroscreening services. For more information about this technology and the science behind it refer to the NeuroFlex®website.