Some professional football players are using advanced treatments to recover from the negative health effects of numerous brain injuries. New treatments and imaging tests used by former players can show us how technologically advanced brain injury rehabilitation has become.

An article in 9News last year discussed the how Jeb Putzier, a former Denver Broncos player, has recovered from brain injuries resulting from his former profession. The former player suggests he sustained “over 1,000 concussions” throughout his career. In the years after he retired from professional football, Putzier suffered from depression, cognitive problems and extreme fatigue.

Putzier sought help from a Littleton-based company to understand and improve his symptoms. The company used SPECT scans, a highly accurate imaging test, to study Putzier’s brain. Imaging tests confirmed Putzier was suffering from the long-term effects of concussions. Doctors recommended light therapy and eye movement therapy to help Putzier improve his symptoms.

Light therapy utilizes infrared LED lights to deliver photons (light particles) to the brain. Research conducted by the Veteran’s Administration in Boston show the therapy might help improve blood flow and cognitive functions. Light therapy has drawn skepticism from critics, but still serves as an example of how brain injury treatments continue to evolve.

Why New Brain Injury Treatments Might Change the Lives of Victims

Putzier’s story raises questions about what future treatments are on the horizon not only for professional athletes, but for accident victims. Researchers at the University of Illinois are in the process of developing a brain implant the size of a rice grain. This implant can monitor temperature, pressure and other vital signs that signal conditions capable of causing further brain damage. Instead of surgically removing this device, it dissolves away harmlessly into the tissue without putting patients at risk.

Advances in medicine are going to continue to help people who have suffered brain injuries. Never give up hope. Who knows what the near future might hold?