Magnesium and Other Treatments for Speedy Concussion Recovery?

Contact sports, falls, car accident, etc.  can all lead to concussions. But what exactly is a concussion? Concussions are defined as a traumatic brain injury, or TBI, caused by a blow to the head that shakes the brain inside the skull.  There are varying levels of damage that can occur in the brain depending on the amount of impact from the initial injury. Since concussions are difficult to directly study in humans, the complete story of what happens to the brain during trauma is not fully understood.  So if we still don’t know the whole story how can we treat concussions and how do we know when a person, suffering from a concussion, is fully recovered?  Unfortunately at this point there is no perfectly accurate test that can determine how long the healing process should last after brain trauma. For now, depending on the degree of the injury, the healing process for the brain, on its own, can take anywhere from a few days to several months.  If the brain trauma is severe, internal bleeding and permanent brain damage can occur. All types of concussions and traumatic brain injuries should be treated by a doctor.

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I was curious to find out if there was some type of drug or other treatment that could speed up the healing process and help the brain repair itself, especially since many annual brain injuries are in young athletes who want to get back out on the field. After doing a bit of research, I found that there are very few drug treatments available to be used in the recovery process for concussions. According to the Mayo Clinic, brain rest is the best treatment for concussions. This even includes avoiding TV, video games, outdoor activities, and using computers. Eating a light diet and avoiding alcohol are advised as well. Also acetaminophen (e.g. Tylenol) is good to use for excessive headaches.
One interesting piece of information I came across was the possible use of magnesium sulfate as a treatment. It is still in the trial stages of testing; however this is an interesting treatment choice, because it just so happens that magnesium levels in the body is related to concussions. When a concussion occurs, magnesium levels in the brain drop for up to four days. Magnesium levels are important because many energy producing enzymes require magnesium to do their job.  If energy levels are low in the brain, the recovery process may take longer.  As of right now magnesium sulfate trials for magnesium sulfate have deemed the drug inappropriate for concussion treatment, because no significant impacts were found by administering the drug after a concussion occurred. Other magnesium supplements have also been a suggested form of treatment such as, magnesium glycinate and magnesium taurinate. However the effectiveness of these treatments still needs to be tested. There is still much more research to be done on concussions as a whole, but there is hope is finding new treatments to stave off permanent brain damage.
If you want more information on concussions; prevention, symptoms, and treatments please visit:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000799.htm
If you would like to read about magnesium sulfate and its efficacy please visit:
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00004730