Concussion Recovery in Dallas
A concussion changes how your brain and body work together. We measure that change against your own numbers, and we help you tell when it is actually safe to go back.
What You Might Be Feeling
Common Ways People Describe It
A concussion is a brain injury from a hit to the head or body, or from whiplash. You don't have to be knocked out to have one. People tend to say:
- "I feel foggy and I can't focus"
- "My headache gets worse after screens or schoolwork"
- "I'm dizzy or off balance"
- "Lights and noise bother me more than usual"
- "I just don't feel like myself"
- "My athlete says they're fine, but something seems off"
Common Causes
- Contact in sports
- A fall
- A car collision
- Whiplash, even with no blow to the head
What Shapes Your Timeline
Concussion recovery varies a lot from person to person. Your timeline depends on the injury itself, whether you have had a concussion before, how your neck and balance systems are affected, how much thinking load you carry at school or work, how well you sleep, and how your symptoms respond as activity increases. We reassess along the way and adjust the plan as you change.
Your Concussion Plan
How We Support a Concussion, Start to Finish
1. Baseline
Your 3D movement assessment includes a balance component that records how you balance while you're healthy. If a concussion happens, we compare your results to your own numbers instead of general averages. We do baselines for individuals, and for whole teams on screening days.
2. Recovery
Symptom-guided rest and a gradual return to activity, monitored by your physician or athletic trainer, are the foundation.
- We check your neck, since a concussion often comes with a whiplash event that can affect the cervical spine. An injury there can contribute to symptoms.
- Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a supplemental option that can help provide resources to the body and brain to heal, used alongside that care.
3. Return to Play
We provide your pre-concussion baseline data and your current balance data to your athletic trainer or treating physician, who makes the return-to-play decision. Our data supports that decision. It never replaces medical clearance.
What Treatment Looks Like Here
You work 1-on-1 with Dr. Lovelace and have direct access to the doctor at every visit. We start with an exam that includes a check of your neck and a movement and balance assessment, compared to your baseline when you have one. Which tools we use after that depends on what the exam finds and what you need. We reassess as we go so you can see what is changing.
When symptoms linger, we re-evaluate you and look for other possible causes. When your exam findings point to a provider who is better suited to help, we refer you to the right provider and keep working alongside your physician or athletic trainer.
Common Approaches
- Symptom-guided rest and a gradual return to school or sport, monitored by a physician or athletic trainer, are the standard foundation.
- An evaluation by a trained provider or a doctor matters, especially after a first concussion or any worrying sign.
- Cognitive baseline tests, such as ImPACT, measure thinking and memory. A movement baseline measures balance and control. They answer different questions, and both can help.
- Supplemental therapies, such as hyperbaric oxygen, can help provide resources to the body and brain to heal. They are off-label and sit alongside medical care.
- Our approach adds your own movement data and a plan built around your root cause.
What This Is Not
A movement assessment is not a cognitive test, can't diagnose a concussion on its own, and is not medical clearance to return to play. The provider managing the return to play makes that call. Our job is to give that decision objective data.
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions We Hear
No, you can be cared for without one. A baseline makes the picture clearer, because we compare you to your own healthy numbers instead of general averages. If you play contact sports, or have a child who does, it's worth getting done before the season.
Your 3D movement assessment includes a balance component that records how you balance while you're healthy, along with other movement measurements. If a concussion happens later, we compare your new results to those numbers.
No. It isn't a diagnostic tool or a cognitive test. A concussion diagnosis comes from a physician's evaluation. Movement and balance data is one more piece of information alongside it.
More About Your Care
Individual results vary. This page is educational and doesn't replace an exam or care from your physician. If you think you are having an emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.