Md. Company Treating Concussion Patients Using Brain 'Physical Therapy'
COLUMBIA, Md. (WJZ) -- It could be athletics, an auto accident or even a fall, but researchers say concussions are increasing at an alarming rate -- especially among young people aged 22 and under. Now a Columbia, Maryland, company is working to help those affected by concussions and more.
Brain Train America calls it physical therapy for the brain.
"We have to talk about recovery because there are a lot of times there's a new norm for these individuals and that new norm is a tougher life than the one they had," said Kate Ortman, founder and CEO of Brain Train America.
Ortman founded the company eight years ago.
"It started on my dining room table, helping one of my sons recover from a nine-hour brain surgery. He wanted to get back to college, he wanted to get back to driving and I wanted to do anything I could to help him," Ortman said.
Peter Dudley, 22, of Laurel, is being treated at Brain Train America. He suffered several concussions playing ice hockey.
"Fatigue is the number one thing. It really sets me back from doing a lot of things. I'm taking a lot of tests. I started here a couple of weeks ago and I think I've noticed a few changes. I'm not where I want to be, but that's understandable since I just started," Dudley said.
Ortman is a trainer who suffered six concussions playing high school and college football.
"I've been in that position where there's not a lot of hope. The programs here give you hope. They help you cure all the ailments like the mood swings and the focus. It really makes you feel better about yourself and I would love others to feel the same way," he said.
Brain Train America is growing with clients from Maine to California.
"The most important thing we do is our evaluation because we want to see where someone is struggling. It's for concussions and it's for other things. It's performance. If you are a student that is really struggling in reading, wherever you are in your brain, what neurologically can we strengthen," Ortman said.
Some of the techniques used at Brain Train America are being used by many top athletes across the country, including Tom Brady, Steph Curry and the Washington Capitals, to improve athletic performance and recover from concussions.
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