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Today I had the complete honor to sit down and talk to Natasha Wilch, a licensed physical therapist out of Canada who emphasizes on concussion therapy. Natasha Wilch inspires people to start — and stay! — moving in the direction of their goals and dreams in life, no matter what they’ve been through. An entrepreneur, speaker, and registered physical therapist specializing in concussion therapy, Natasha knows from experience that there are two things in order to live our best life: hope that the change we seek is actually possible and the support of someone who cares about our success.
In sports, especially the ones that I am involved with, concussions are so common. I’ve seen careers ended over one too many concussions. Any head injury like that has the potential to cause serious, life-altering damage and no two concussions are the same. That is why it is so important that we be educated from people like Natasha who have extensive training in what to do and how to recover from something as traumatic as a concussion.
Some of the things that she shared with me in this episode are truths that completely shifted my thinking on process and procedure around concussions and concussion recovery. Some of the most well known “facts” about how to handle a concussion are actually false, and I would have never known if it had not been for Natasha and her amazing knowledge of the subject.
If you’re looking for something to blow your mind, this episode is for you. This episode is equally inspiring and educational. As a statement of encouragement to any person out there struggling with identity post-concussion, Natasha had these things to say: “Don’t let anybody rush you to figure out what you need to do. You’re allowed to grieve the life you had before your concussion, but stay open.” I hope you get as much out of this conversation as I did!
3 key takeaways from this episode:
Busting myths about concussions
Some of the age-old “truths” surrounding concussions are actually the opposite of what you should be doing to treat this kind of functional brain disturbance. What is usually told is to go to a dark, quiet room and just rest it off. Natasha shares that this is actually the opposite of helpful. You have to be proactive in working and healing through the injury, just like any other injury
How concussions affect everyone differently
“No two concussions are the same.” A statement that has completely changed my life. There will never be an instance with any two people where they should be treated the exact same for a concussion. With the difference in sports, the difference in gender, there are so many determining factors to how you should treat and recover from a concussion.
Working with your body to heal
Something that Natasha shares with me is how she gives personalized exercises to each person who comes in with symptoms of a concussion. When we are working with our bodies to heal, the chances of seeing a full recovery are so much higher. Not only that, but we are improving the skill that may have caused us to have the concussion and are actively working to prevent it from happening again.
