Fact: Concussions change our brains! For most of us, “head bumps” thankfully don't produce many symptoms, but even mild concussions can show up symptoms years later. They should not be ignored and below I explain why.

Personally, I experienced 4 concussions in my life (and many other big-ish head blows that were not quite concussion level). Each time ‘recovery’ took only about 1 – 7 days before I largely felt normal again. Only for 2 out of the 4 was I checked out by a doctor and, since I could remember key facts,  I was discharged and told to rest and take pain killers. Phew… nothing major… I thought…

My latest concussion happened just over 5 years, during a cycling rally from London to Paris in 3 days. On day 3, 70 miles from the finish line, I fell and passed out briefly. My helmet cracked and I passed out for a couple of minutes, but after having a member from the support team patch up my bloody wounds, I just kept going all the way to the Eiffel Tower, while probably doing myself a huge disservice. While the scars on my body are still visible 5 years later… I can’t see what it did to my brain. Although I did not feel any different in the days or weeks following the accident, it will have changed my brain, because all concussions do. And, in hindsight, years later I have felt the impact.

How to concussions change the brain?

The brain doesn’t heal the same way as our other body parts.

You see our brain has immune cells (microglia, among others) like the rest of our body. But the brain’s immune cells work differently to that in our body. Our body’s immune cells switch on to fight infections and repair wounds and then, when everything is repaired, they turn off again.

By contrast, the immune cells in our brain, once they are switched on, they NEVER turn off.

 And that mechanism of switching on (i.e. glial cell priming) usually happens as a result of a concussion or a traumatic brain injury (but this can also happen for a number of other reasons like chronic stress, drug and alcohol abuse, chemical exposure, severe malnutrition among other things).

Imagine for a second a boiled egg… can it ever return to being in its liquid state…? So it is with our brains…

Now, we all have subtle neuro inflammation from the head bumps we’ve had as kids, as well as other environmental insults. And for the vast majority of us it’s just part of life and we need not be overly worried about the level of our brain inflammation, although a healthy diet and exercises goes a long way at supporting good brain health.

But when brain inflammation becomes too much, we can start to lose function. This is because the brain’s immune cells (microglia) are no longer doing their important role of maintaining homeostasis, clearing neurotransmitters out of synapses and ensuring neuron conductions speed. Rather, they have turned into soldiers and attack surrounding brain matter producing localised inflammation.

This can lead to loss of function in various forms. Depending which part of your brain is impacted. For instance, if you have inflammation in your prefrontal cortext (the front part of your brain), planning, organisation, concentration and focus may become increasingly difficult. If you have inflammation in your cerebellum (the back part of your brain) balance will be an issue. Brain inflammation may be localised but in severe cases it is brain wide and will affect a person so much that they lack the energy, motivation and, even, ability to participate in normal everyday life. Other symptom any of the following: chronic brain inflammation include chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, chemical sensitivity (e.g. sensitivity to fragrance), leaky gut, struggle to speak, lack of ability to concentrate for long periods, food sensitivities, autoimmunity.

But thankfully there is hope. While it is not possible to change the microglia back to their original state, it is possible to dampen the inflammatory cascade they are causing in the brain, by switching them from an M1 (inflammatory) response to an M2 (anti-inflammatory) response.

A protocol that addresses brain inflammation must always be specific and includes both functional brain rehabilitation as well as targeted diet, lifestyle and nutraceuticals interventions. With these things in place, people can significantly improve their brain function, which allows many people to return to normal life.

I always look for signs of brain inflammation in my clients as part of an overall protocol, which always helps my clients actually put into practice what I am teaching them. In my opinion, a well-functioning brain is at the heart of being able to make healthy choices. But more recently, I have completed a training course on neuro-inflammation, and am excited to help more people in the future who struggle with this awful invisible sickness.