September 19, 2024 • 33 mins
Have you heard about neurofeedback?
Today we welcome Dr. Robert Baric, the founder of MyConcussionDr where he specializes in whole body management of brain injury. Nine years ago, after his mother had a stroke, he got board certified in neurofeedback, and now has one of the best clinics in North Carolina.
QEEG and/or eye examination are the usual ways to diagnose concussion. He discusses the best ways to initially treat a TBI, when to go to the ER, what you can do at home, and strategies for lifelong brain health.
Dr. Baric emphasizes the importance of persistent recovery. If you hit a wall with one practitioner, find another that can help. With hard work and the right fuel, recovery is possible.
Guest Social Media info - https://myconcussiondr.com/
@myconcussiondr
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
Instrumental music playing
bindwaves-host (00:10):
Hi, I'm Carrie, a stroke survivor and a member
of BIND.
And I'm Kezia, a stroke survivorand member of BIND as well.
And today we're welcoming Dr.
Robert Baric, um, who is a, uh,chiropractor that's dedicated to
holistic health and wellness.
Um, he is the founder of MyConcussion Doctor.
(00:33):
Um, where he, uh, specializes inneurotherapy and whole body
treatment for concussionmanagement.
So, uh, welcome Dr.
Robert.
Uh, Dr.
Robert Baric
dr--robert-baric (00:46):
Thank you very much.
It's a pleasure to meet you.
Brian (00:48):
Welcome to BINDWAVES, the official podcast of the Brain
Injury Network of Dallas.
I'm Brian White, BIND'sExecutive Director.
On each episode, we'll beproviding insight into the brain
injury community.
We'll be talking to members andprofessionals regarding their
stories and the important roleof BIND's Clubhouse.
We work as a team to inspirehope, community, and a sense of
(01:12):
purpose to survivors,caregivers, and the public.
Thank you for tuning intoBINDWAVES.
BINDWAVES Let's get on with theshow.
bindwaves-host (01:20):
Well, thank you so much for joining us
virtually.
Uh, as mentioned earlier, it hasbeen quite a, uh, experience for
all of us.
Um, so thank you so much forjoining us.
Um, can you just tell us alittle bit about yourself?
I know it's the first time weall meet, um, but also for our
listeners.
dr--robert-baric (01:37):
So 29 years ago, uh, started a chiropractic
practice and approximately nineyears ago, after coincidentally,
my mother had a stroke, um, westarted neurofeedback.
So I'm now I'm board certifiedin neurofeedback, uh, largest
clinic in North and SouthCarolina and specialized in
traumatic brain injury.
Uh, on the board of the BrainInjury Association of North
(02:00):
Carolina.
bindwaves-host (02:03):
Awesome.
That's great to hear.
Um, we're excited that you aretotally from a different state.
This is all very exciting.
It is very cool.
So yeah, BIA, North Carolina,we're part of BIA as well as
probably most of us all, but solike we're going to ask some
basic questions to get startedjust again for the general
public.
(02:23):
We're hoping to make everyonemore aware of all these
different things.
So how would someone know thatthey had a concussion and should
go see a doctor?
dr--robert-baric (02:35):
Concussion and traumatic brain injury, there's,
um, so basically there's workingdocuments for concussion and
brain injury.
The current ones are out ofBerlin and Amsterdam.
Those are kind of where all thesmart people in the world get
together.
And it is a very squishy, uh,diagnosis.
One of them is, is that on animage, they see a bleed in the
(02:57):
brain.
So, so basically, it's as muchof a symptomatic diagnosis as is
it actually an imagingdiagnosis.
One of the best ways to actuallytest concussions.
If you had one or a traumaticbrain injury is two things with
a good eye examination or also aQEEG.
(03:22):
That is what we do withneurofeedback that we're able
to, uh, pre, pre scan, uh, likea, uh, athlete and then post
scan or people do come in, uh,after some type of an injury
that has not had a pre scan andthere are many good indicators
from the scan that can tell usif they, if that was a potential
(03:44):
cause.
bindwaves-host (03:47):
Yeah.
Um, I think it's reallyinteresting how, um, how all of
this has started because of, um,your mother experienced
something, uh, stroke or, andyou have also mentioned a lot
of, uh, traumatic brain injuryand the concussions.
Um, from what you haveexperienced, like, what do you
think are the most importantsteps to take and possibly
(04:09):
immediately, um, after gettingthese feelings of either a
concussion or a TBI?
dr--robert-baric (04:15):
So that is the, that is the million dollar
question.
And basically why I get up inthe morning because, um, a
little bit of physiology, yourbrain weighs 1 percent of your
body consumes 25 percent of yourcalories.
And obviously we all know ourbrain controls everything.
So it's super important to getthe brain.
up and running as quickly aspossible.
(04:37):
And when a brain has some typeof a head bump that could be in
a bathroom, or that could be ina sporting event, or that could
be, we want to maintain theenergy systems in the brain.
And the brain is very unique.
It can run on glucose, whichprobably all of ours are running
on right now, or it can run onketones and ketones do not get
(04:58):
turned off.
The brain does not turn them offor turn them down more
appropriately when it has a TBI.
So as soon as you suspect theTBI, we want to get the brain
into ketosis as quick aspossible.
Uh, why?
Because your brain is just a, ahuge compilation of pumps.
And is it, is it the sodiumpotassium pumps?
(05:19):
Is it the glymphatic pumps?
Um, and I almost use the exampleof, um, Uh, New Orleans, right?
New Orleans is a cityunderwater.
So if what, if the pump stopped,it backs up.
If, if the brain cannot getenough energy during this super
critical time, the glymphaticsdo not drain, the membranes do
not drain.
(05:40):
And basically all of that sludgethat the brain's constantly
producing backs up.
And then as a result, itbasically turns to glue and now
we're in a mess.
So energy restoration is by farthe number one thing you want to
try to restore.
And, and it is, you have to usealternate sources.
(06:01):
We use a thing called exogenousketones.
Basically, it puts youimmediately into ketosis.
So, We're finalizing developinga product where it's, it's the
acute, if you have a concussion,it's like an eight to 10 day
program where you're, you'retaking a combination of ketones
and other various antiinflammatory, uh, agents,
(06:23):
natural ones that get into theblood brain barrier.
So the brain can kind of limpalong while it's, while that
bruise is going on.
And it doesn't basically getclogged up with all the toxins
of the cells trying to recoveronline.
bindwaves-host (06:38):
Okay.
Um, I do love that.
Um, um, New Orleans, but I'mgoing to back up just a little
bit because I have, I'm going tomake it more generic just for
the listeners on concussion.
Like you talked about, you know,a bump on your head, maybe in a
sporting event, maybe in thebathtub.
So at what point do you havethat bump that you make your
(06:59):
loved one or whoever it is, goto the hospital and make sure
it's gone?
It is, it is or is not aconcussion and that it's, that
our ketones are working and thatwe need to do something because
my mom falls a little bit toomuch and I can't always get her
to go to the doctor or to thehospital to check.
Does that make sense?
I want to make sure people knowwhat they should be doing right
(07:20):
away.
dr--robert-baric (07:21):
Okay, so I want to take just a minute and
talk about traumatic injury,TBI, traumatic brain injury or
concussion.
Oftentimes people think of one.
It's not.
It's when you fall on your headwhen you're two years old and
then when you fall when you're16 and then when you fall off
the bike or when you bump yourhead in the shower.
(07:42):
So what we've learned is, isit's the cumulative effect of
all these mild, moderate headbumps.
They add together.
You ask a simple question.
You can't run off to theemergency room every time and
get a CAT scan.
You are correct.
So, you know, the, the easy andquick one, when you absolutely
(08:02):
have to, is if you have pupilsthat do not follow each other.
So if you shine a light in oneeye and one, and one pupil gets
small, but the other gets big,stays big, immediately to the
ER, 100 percent rapid.
But that again is extremelyrare.
So, so you raise a simplequestion of, you're now into
(08:23):
this huge gray area of, well, doyou have one or do you not?
And it's a little bit of a.
How do you err on the side ofsafety?
But as you say, if your mombumps her head once a week, you
can't run to the emergency roomevery time.
Uh, the eyes, specifically eyemovements, can give you a lot of
(08:43):
information as far as, is thebrain having trouble, uh,
processing that, but you canalso ask them situational, what
did you have for lunch?
You know, what day is it?
Who's president?
Uh, what's, what's, you know,where were you born?
They're going to remember theold stuff.
It's the, what did they do 30minutes ago?
(09:04):
You know, who, who, where, whereare they at?
Where's their situationalawareness?
So there's a lot of, there's alot of tests that you can just
give.
It's called SCAT tests, whereyou're just asking questions.
And these are, these are timesensitive questions.
Where you ate lunch today,right?
That, that kind of situationalthings that, Oh yeah, I had
(09:26):
breakfast.
What did you eat for breakfast?
I had blah, blah, blah.
And, um, so you can do like a,an inventory, you can do a
simple exam.
Um, but again, it's, you're inthis huge gray area that the
world is in.
You can't run off to theemergency room and get a CAT
scan every time you have a headbump.
Otherwise your mom just got tocheck into the hospital.
bindwaves-host (09:46):
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I think, uh, all of us asbrain injury survivors or stroke
survivors that have had thisexperience were like, Oh, yeah,
the doctors asked me that allthe time.
But you know what?
Uh, we got this comment in oneof our, uh, conversations in
another episode that we are, weare really good doctors for
ourselves.
(10:06):
And we need to think about that.
Like we should ask thosequestions when we have this
experience, right?
Um, so I think that was reallygood to know.
Um, but what are some commonmisconceptions of like having a
concussion and like how werecover?
dr--robert-baric (10:24):
So everybody, I mean, I think the human
default is to say, Oh, I'm fine.
It was just a head bump.
And the reality is, is.
It wasn't, or it oftentimes isnot.
So that is where that, thatobjective second person is going
to be real critical becausethey're going to say, no, your,
(10:47):
your balance isn't as good, oryou're confused or, um, your,
you know, there's, they're justnot situational aware and, and
like the current working diagramand the current working
documents.
You need to look at the eyes asfar as tracking and as far as
the thing called saccades,saccades are, imagine you're
(11:08):
looking out your car and you're,you're not the, you're a
passenger and you see somethingand then you, your eyes jump
ahead and you see somethingagain.
And then you see, so those arecalled saccades, saccades are,
uh, uh, convergence, or youreyes tracking the pen, uh, is
your balance where it needs tobe.
Uh, what's going on with yourcervical spine?
(11:29):
This oftentimes is a huge area.
This is recommended that it mustbe checked with everybody who
has a potential TBI because yourneck gives your brain all kinds
of proprioceptive information.
So we really are getting a lotof clarity.
As far as an assessment, it'sstill not a hundred percent, but
there's somebody that has a headbump.
(11:53):
We want to, we want to justcheck all of them, not just, Oh,
rest, rest is important, butit's not the only one.
bindwaves-host (12:00):
Yeah, that's, that's really important to
understand.
And I think that earlier youwere mentioning a lot of like,
The needs of like nutrition andmeta.
I can't say these words.
Metabolic needs.
Yes, Carrie said it.
That's why we work together.
Um, so how is that so importantfor, like, a post, um, injury
(12:23):
and also for recovery after aconcussion?
I think you were mentioningearlier, but why is it so
important?
dr--robert-baric (12:30):
Okay.
So the critical time, anytimeyou have a head bump is really
the first, as quick as possible,but for the first 10 days,
because the brain is producing,the brain, again, the brain is
ravenous.
It's consuming 25 percent ofyour, your calories through the,
the, you know, glucose system.
(12:50):
So, and what is, what are those,what are those calories being
used for?
Well, there's, they're notrunning up and downstairs.
They're maintaining.
Energy potentials.
They're basically pumping,they're trying to keep certain
electrons on one side of thecell compared to the other.
Uh, they're detoxifying.
So without that, that the brainis constantly fighting or
(13:15):
constantly make, keeping theseenergy potentials to allow the
brain to function correctly.
When a brain has a TBI, many ofthose systems do not fail
totally, but they greatly reduceand they, they reduce so much
that they no longer can get ridof the junk that the glial cells
are producing.
Um, we've all heard of ourlymphatic system, but in the
(13:36):
brain we have glial cells with aG and they, there's a glymphatic
system and the brain's just notable to detoxify.
So that energy is super dupercritical.
And as I had said, the glucosesystem oftentimes either greatly
reduces or fails post traumaticbrain injury, post head bump.
And that is why this, that, thatintroduction of ketones is so
(14:00):
critical.
Think of it as, as you're inTexas, right?
You have a backup generator.
Well, all those people inHouston that didn't have a
backup generator for four days.
Weren't having good days, buteverybody who did have a backup
generator, it was a whole lotbetter.
They weren't as good as theywere without it, but I think
they were very happy.
They had it for those days when,when the power was out.
bindwaves-host (14:19):
Exactly.
Um, so we're talking a lot aboutthe metabolic needs and that,
but how does nutrition play inall this?
I mean, it seems like nutritionwanted to help you boost that
energy.
dr--robert-baric (14:33):
correct.
So you have natural antiinflammatories that you can
take.
And is that, is that curcumin oris that vitamin D or fish oil or
N acetylcysteine oracetylcholine?
There are many things you cankind of help.
The brain and its metabolicchallenge.
And it's super important thatwhen you take something here, it
(14:56):
needs to go down, get absorbed,and then get through the blood
brain barrier.
The blood brain barrier is ascreen door here.
It is super duper difficult toget through.
And that, to give you anexample, heaven forbid somebody
has brain cancer, a cancer intheir head, they can't give them
chemo agents.
Why?
Because the chemo agents can'tget through the thing called the
blood brain barrier.
(15:17):
Um, so there are many thingsnaturally from vitamin D and
fish oil, as I said, there'smany nutrients that can be very
neuroprotective.
Yeah.
When there is a, some type of ahead bump or a stroke, either
one.
I mean, both are the same.
bindwaves-host (15:33):
Interesting.
Um, I think this is probably thefirst conversation that we have
at like this.
I'm like, interesting.
This is just like, my mind islike, in awe of all the
information that you're givingus.
This is really good.
I think that this is somethingthat you offer in your, in your
practice.
dr--robert-baric (15:50):
So we've, we've kind of backed into this
because I see, I'm boardcertified in neurofeedback and,
and I see people that are comingin with anxiety, depression,
ADD, ADHD, and this is not theonly cause, but when I start
doing a history, Oh, you start,you have anxiety.
It's been here for three years.
Okay.
And I proactively, I said, soany traumas?
(16:12):
No, I haven't had any traumas.
Then I say, okay, tell me aboutany head bumps or auto accidents
or stuff like that.
Five to seven years prior.
Oh yeah, I had one.
Oh, how are you before that?
You know what?
I didn't have the anxiety.
So many of these simple traumasof life is that an auto
accident?
Is that a fall in the shower?
Is that a sporting event?
(16:33):
I was working with an NFL playeryesterday.
Anxiety beyond a belief.
Um, so we have very good resultswith neurofeedback in fixing
this.
But it's so much easier to dealwith a little problem than a big
problem.
And I'm an analogy person.
If you have, you know, heavenforbid, we all have fire
extinguishers in our house, butsomething's left in the oven too
(16:54):
long.
Oh my gosh, spray it out.
Yeah.
I got a little mess.
But if I leave it in the ovenand I leave, I might come back
and the flames might be comingthrough the roof.
Most people have, theircondition has been able to
smolder so long that now I havea massive issue.
And again, my, my, my kind ofsecret sauce in life is I keep
(17:15):
asking why, why, why, why, why,why, why?
Uh huh.
So if we can put out the fire inthe stove, we don't burn the
whole house down.
Um, so I, I think I, what wasyour question again?
Cause I want to make sure toanswer that is, is.
bindwaves-host (17:30):
Yeah, no, I actually was just wondering if
this is something that you likeoffering your practice, but now
that you're talking more aboutit, I think it's also important
for our listeners to understandneurofeedback.
And like, how is that involvedalso in the recovery and the
treatment?
dr--robert-baric (17:50):
Okay, so, so, let me give you 30 second
history.
Neurofeedback started in 1965with NASA.
In the Gemini space program, theastronauts were having seizures
around rocket fuel.
So they bring in Dr.
Barry Sternman, he does a thingcalled a QEEG, he puts a cap on
their head, goop in their hair,we gather 20, 000 data points.
Basically that tells me ifthey're a good candidate or not.
(18:11):
Uh, everything is based on data,every astronaut gets
neurofeedback to date.
Basically, I'm a mechanic ofyour brain.
So think of, you have, in yourcar you have a check engine
light.
Well, you don't know what's on,but something's going on.
So we're able to basically put acap on the head and we're able
to gather 10, 000 data pointseyes closed, 10, 000 data points
eyes open.
(18:32):
Tells me if you're a goodcandidate or not and then
basically tells me what do weneed to improve, what do we need
to fix.
Um, so what, what does thatmean?
That, there's basically the bigpsychological term is operant
conditioning or behaviorism, butin the real world it's called
puppy training.
When your brain does what wewant, we reward it.
When your brain doesn't, we takethe reward away.
(18:52):
So I'm not shocking the brain.
I'm not doing anything.
I'm just, I'm just the biggestcheerleader.
Good job, good job, good job, orI ignore it.
Um, they're just in watchingtelevision.
So the three, three things wesee the majority are anxiety,
depression, ADD, ADHD, andinsomnia, sleep issues.
And those are ways that we'reable to using the principle of
(19:14):
neuroplasticity able to kind ofre, I don't want to say
reprogram, but optimize thebrain.
So the brain is able to stay ontask or the beta waves are
higher on the left side of yourhead, which is associated with
low anxiety or depression orthat kind of stuff.
But that's neurofeedback, notbeen around since 1965, it's
(19:36):
been around forever.
The technology has gotten veryconsistent.
And then like in my world,you're, I tell people, you have
four brains in your body.
You have a right brain, a leftbrain, you have a thyroid brain
and a gut brain.
And so many people come in thatwe have to help them with their
gut as much as this brain,because the happy hormones come
out of the gut.
(19:57):
In a, in a TBI, in a, like that,um, We want to reduce the, the
energy drain on the brain.
What does that mean?
We want to put them in a darkroom.
We want them to get off screens.
We want them to be able to lowerthe load on the brain.
If you're watching screens, ifyou're on a phone, uh, you're on
(20:18):
a TV, your brain is thinking,thinking, thinking, thinking,
thinking, well, if we can justkind of have it glide for a bit,
it will, it will use less energyand then the brain will be able
to allocate more energy tohealing.
bindwaves-host (20:31):
I love that.
Um, but real quick, before I askmy next question, I have to take
a quick little pause and justremind our listeners to go ahead
and click the buttons thatyou're on, whatever you're
watching or listening, go aheadand click the like share or
whatever it may be.
And just keep on listening.
And then, everything that you'resaying, um, makes perfect sense,
(20:52):
but since you talked about thefour different brains, um, one
of my questions that I was, thatI was thinking about is, so, and
we keep saying concussionbecause I guess that's kind of
what we thought was going to bemore about concussion, but yes,
we're very familiar with TBI, Imean, we're stroke survivors, so
we're very familiar with TBI,and A lot of people don't think
they're the same thing becausethey're like, Oh no, I just had
(21:13):
a mild concussion.
I didn't have a TBI.
But whether it be a mildconcussion or a very traumatic
brain injury, how does, um, Iforgot, um, how does that impact
the whole body?
It's not just the brain that'saffected.
I mean, I kind of know that andKezia kind of knows that, but we
want our listeners to understandthat more and that it's not
just, and I'm not talkingphysical problems.
(21:36):
I'm talking, um, You know,because the brain controls
everything that's going on.
I don't remember what brain yousaid this was, or the gut brain,
but I mean the brain braincontrols everything.
dr--robert-baric (21:48):
Okay.
So there's two, there's twoconversations.
We'll kind of summarize themquick.
Your brain, as I said, consumes25 percent of your calories.
Your energy comes out of yourthyroid.
So your energy, your thyroidcreates the rate of glucose burn
and oftentimes we will pick upfunctional hypothyroid from the
scan.
(22:08):
So the scan will tell us there'sa problem.
Then we'll do further blood workto see what's going on with the
thyroid.
And, and sadly, many times thethyroid blood work done by
primary care is not adequateenough to get a true assessment.
Um, so you need to do a muchmore thorough thyroid workup.
In addition, in the gut, the gutis, Primarily IgG or food
(22:31):
sensitivities or delayedreactions or leaky gut, stuff
like that.
So that's kind of the fourbrains, but in the research, The
brain affects the GI system, soit'll cause you to potentially
have leaky gut if you have atraumatic brain injury.
Uh, visual.
You have dizziness.
I have, I have convergence.
I have reading fatigue.
(22:53):
I have, um, uh, vertigo.
Any of those things.
Cardiac.
When you have a TBI, it actuallyaffects how your, your heart
functions.
So it affects cardiac outputand, uh, creating more
inflammation and catecholamines.
Musculoskeletal, the higher riskof musculoskeletal injuries,
like your mom who's fallennumerous times, that is, that's
(23:14):
a crazy, you know, ideallysomebody gets her into a balance
program because one more fall,somebody hits their head, boom,
they're by themself and theydon't make it.
Cognitive behavioral moodissues.
So empathy, depression, anxiety,um, it messes up your hormones.
So like being ladies,absolutely.
(23:36):
It can affect your female cyclesand, uh, sleep oftentimes
disturbed.
And then we talked about thatblood brain barrier.
I mean, and that's what all theresearch has shown so far.
So any one of those eightsystems can go offline or all of
them.
When you get a TBI.
bindwaves-host (23:54):
Yeah, I think that's also just really
interesting because it's more ofan explanation on how we, like,
with one, with a stroke or a TBIor a concussion, how much it
changes our whole body, um, my,one of my questions was going to
be about, like, some long termeffects of concussions, if not
(24:14):
treated, you just mentioned alot of them, um, but what would
be a good way to treat?
Um, after a concussion,
dr--robert-baric (24:25):
So, you know, you want the working documents,
sadly, um, the workingdocuments, there are not enough
people who are following them.
And what is the workingdocument?
You get the smartest people inthe world in, To work on this.
And I'm certified in traumaticbrain injury.
(24:47):
And I would tell my patients,I'm going to the conference and
I'm the dumbest one in the room.
And they, they're very politeand they say, Oh, you're not
dumb.
I said, I didn't say I was dumb.
I just said, I'm the dumbest onein the room.
And what that means is, is I'min the right room.
And just, just the, the, thepresenter was dual faculty at
Harvard and Cambridge.
The person beside me was TBI forAustralia.
The guy behind me was TBI forEurope.
(25:10):
I mean, it's just like insanelysmart people.
So the data is there.
It's just, it's not being used.
They run to their pediatricianand their pediatrician's great,
but they're not the right one.
Or the neurologist, theirneurologists are too busy
dealing with MS.
So you almost have to go topeople that are specially
trained in TBI, um, to do that.
So you ask a simple question.
(25:31):
For instance, my mother, one ofthe main onuses for me to get in
neurofeedback, she was 72 at thetime of her stroke.
I got her one year post stroke.
So with my siblings, theydidn't, they, they, we ran to
this rehab and this rehab andthis rehab and this rehab.
And after all that was done,They said, okay, now you can
deal with it.
And as you know, in a stroke,you got a honeymoon.
(25:51):
Your honeymoon is from one dayto three months, maybe six
months.
And whatever you're at, you'rekind of at.
So I took a 72 year old womanwho couldn't feed herself, walk
without a walker, dress herself,care for herself, shower,
bathroom, commode.
A year later, I got her to doall those things.
And it's, the brain is sopliable.
(26:14):
It was just neuroplasticity.
Um, think of as you're trying todrive from to your favorite
place, but there's a bridge out.
Well, you're not going to waituntil that bridge opens up.
You're going to take anotherroute, but you have to poke the
brain enough to say, Hey, drivea little farther, but get around
because they're going to, it'sgoing to be three years before
they open that bridge up.
So, so the brain has phenomenal.
(26:34):
Neuroplasticity, as long as youcan get it in the best metabolic
state possible.
I mean, hyperbaric chambers,amazing.
You want to do those as quick aspossible.
You want to get them up toenough atmospheres where, you
know, you're pushing more oxygeninto the brain to get over that
speed bump of recovery.
Is it never too late?
(26:55):
It's, I don't want to say it'snever too late.
The brain always impresses us.
I, I, I, I, the brain alwaysmakes me silly when I say, oh,
this can't happen.
Uh, but this, the earlier, thebetter anytime you have a, of a,
of an injury or any event.
bindwaves-host (27:10):
No, absolutely.
And that's one of the big thingswe say around here is we're just
going to be in lifelongrecovery.
We're not ever going to be done,which is okay.
Fortunately, we're still aliveto continue to work on our
recovery and get better.
dr--robert-baric (27:23):
Right.
But there's so many things anindividual can do at home.
You can go on Amazon and buy aBrock string for 10 bucks,
right?
You can go and get a foam padagain on Amazon for 20 bucks and
stand on it.
And it's going to help yourbalance.
It's going to help.
There's so, there's so much anindividual can do in their own
venue, but there's just,nobody's teaching it to you,
bindwaves-host (27:46):
No, absolutely.
And that brings me to anotherquestion.
So, and not really just with thepatient, but do you collaborate
with other.
healthcare professionals forthis particular person or
whoever it may be to help createa more comprehensive treatment
for your patient so that you'reall together.
dr--robert-baric (28:04):
Absolutely.
So I'm going to work.
Many of them come in with sometype of psychiatric meds.
Is that anxiety, depression,whatever.
Uh, so we work with them and wework with functional med docs.
We have, I work with one of thebest functional med doctors in
mid, mid Atlantic and why wehave to get this blood brain
barrier.
We have to get the autoimmunethat oftentimes is present in an
(28:27):
individual.
These are the ones that don't,they, they don't heal on their
own.
And um, you know, I mean we're,we're in a very collaborative, I
really, I know what I know welland I am 100%.
Hey, that we need to get you tothis physical therapist to work
on balance exercises, or we needto work on this OT, or we need
to get this functional med docto get your, your hormones
(28:49):
right.
Um, while your body's in thisrecovery mode, because if it
doesn't, it'll just neverrecover.
It'll hit a wall.
bindwaves-host (28:58):
Yeah, and I think, um, I think that's really
important to know for sure.
Um, and also, especially forour, like, new brain injury
survivors, which is really themain, the main, um, listeners
that we have from, right?
Um, Because time is so, it'sgold, um, and time is so
important and then also justreceiving the help from the
(29:20):
correct, um, providers and whowe're going to and who our
family is going to for the help.
Um, I would love to thank youfor coming to us.
Um, thank you so much, Robert,um, Beric.
Um, I just wanted to give youone more chance if you would
like to say anythingspecifically to our listeners,
(29:41):
any advice or anything that youthink is just so important for
you to tell our listeners.
dr--robert-baric (29:46):
Yeah.
So again, it's, it's, uh, braininjury is not an individual
event.
It's a family event.
And it's, it's not, it's not theone person because oftentimes
that one person can reallychange And it can make a huge
factor through the whole family.
Um, and that's all through theliterature.
So I guess my thoughts are istry to try to aggressively get
(30:09):
the brain in the best metabolicstate as possible, as quickly as
possible after any suspectedone.
Uh, um, I mean, that's why I'mbringing out that concussion 9 1
1.
Concussion 9 1 1 is basically afirst aid kit for the brain.
Boom.
You have any type of a headbump.
Mild, Moderate, Severe.
It's a, it's a powder you takefor 8 to 10 days.
(30:30):
What it's doing is it'sprotecting the brain.
It's trying to minimize the,minimize the, um, um, negative
metabolic residual effects.
Uh, number two, if you've hit awall, go to a different place.
Right?
Don't, oh, this doctor, hey,this is one person.
Right?
They might be the best kidneyperson, but you need a vision
(30:52):
person.
Right?
And, and, um, there are, thereis an amazing network of people
that can, unbelievable thingswith traumatic brain injury and
strokes.
And the, the, the technologyjust, I mean, the technology is
there, but it's just easier toeverybody wants a pill.
(31:13):
It's not a pill, right?
It's, it's, it's, uh, there, thetechnology is there to heal so
many things.
Um, I mean, in our office, Imean, we have people that are
out of wheelchairs that havebeen there for 10 years.
So it's, it's, you can dounbelievable recovery.
The brain will always prove youwrong.
If you think you've hit a wall,it'll always prove it wrong.
(31:34):
You just have to give it theright nutrients, the right
training, the right challenges,the right exercises, and it'll
figure a way to route around.
And maybe you're not, you'llnever get a hundred percent,
but.
You know, my mother, she's agreat case.
She was never going to live onher own again.
But she can go to the bathroomby herself, shower herself,
dress herself, feed herself,walk without a walker.
(31:56):
What was her quality of life?
What was her quality of thepeople's parents, the people in
our lives?
Huge.
So, don't settle for whereyou're at.
bindwaves-host (32:05):
Yeah.
dr--robert-baric (32:06):
But thank you.
Thank you for your time, and Ilook forward to, uh, uh, you
know, hearing good things abouteverything that's going on.
bindwaves-host (32:12):
All right.
Well, again, thank you so much.
And you will be able, we willprovide Dr.
Baird's information in thedescription as well.
And then I want to take thistime again to remind our
listeners that you can contactus or email us at BINDWAVES at
the BIND.
org as well as follow us onInstagram at at BINDWAVES or
check out the website, the BIND.
(32:34):
org slash BINDWAVES.
Yep.
And so much for you, Dr.
Baric and all of our listenersto know that all of the
information for you will be inour description.
And thank you so much for reallysharing us your experience on
concussion and helping ourlisteners about the importance
(32:55):
of brain health.
So thank you so much.
And obviously to our listeners,don't forget to like us on all
of your social media platforms,uh, and listen to us every
Thursday.
dr--robert-baric (33:06):
Bye, folks.
bindwaves-host (33:08):
you can find us all on every Thursday.
That's okay.
So until next time.
Until next time.
We hope you've enjoyed listeningto BIND Waves and continue to
support BIND and our non profitmission.
We support brain injurysurvivors as they reconnect into
the life, the community, andtheir workplace.
And we couldn't do that withoutgreat listeners like you.
We appreciate each and every oneof you.
(33:28):
Continue watching.
Until next time.
Until next time.
Instrumental music playing
bindwaves-host (00:10):
Hi, I'm Carrie, a stroke survivor and a member
of BIND.
And I'm Kezia, a stroke survivorand member of BIND as well.
And today we're welcoming Dr.
Robert Baric, um, who is a, uh,chiropractor that's dedicated to
holistic health and wellness.
Um, he is the founder of MyConcussion Doctor.
(00:33):
Um, where he, uh, specializes inneurotherapy and whole body
treatment for concussionmanagement.
So, uh, welcome Dr.
Robert.
Uh, Dr.
Robert Baric
dr--robert-baric (00:46):
Thank you very much.
It's a pleasure to meet you.
Brian (00:48):
Welcome to BINDWAVES, the official podcast of the Brain
Injury Network of Dallas.
I'm Brian White, BIND'sExecutive Director.
On each episode, we'll beproviding insight into the brain
injury community.
We'll be talking to members andprofessionals regarding their
stories and the important roleof BIND's Clubhouse.
We work as a team to inspirehope, community, and a sense of
(01:12):
purpose to survivors,caregivers, and the public.
Thank you for tuning intoBINDWAVES.
BINDWAVES Let's get on with theshow.
bindwaves-host (01:20):
Well, thank you so much for joining us
virtually.
Uh, as mentioned earlier, it hasbeen quite a, uh, experience for
all of us.
Um, so thank you so much forjoining us.
Um, can you just tell us alittle bit about yourself?
I know it's the first time weall meet, um, but also for our
listeners.
dr--robert-baric (01:37):
So 29 years ago, uh, started a chiropractic
practice and approximately nineyears ago, after coincidentally,
my mother had a stroke, um, westarted neurofeedback.
So I'm now I'm board certifiedin neurofeedback, uh, largest
clinic in North and SouthCarolina and specialized in
traumatic brain injury.
Uh, on the board of the BrainInjury Association of North
(02:00):
Carolina.
bindwaves-host (02:03):
Awesome.
That's great to hear.
Um, we're excited that you aretotally from a different state.
This is all very exciting.
It is very cool.
So yeah, BIA, North Carolina,we're part of BIA as well as
probably most of us all, but solike we're going to ask some
basic questions to get startedjust again for the general
public.
(02:23):
We're hoping to make everyonemore aware of all these
different things.
So how would someone know thatthey had a concussion and should
go see a doctor?
dr--robert-baric (02:35):
Concussion and traumatic brain injury, there's,
um, so basically there's workingdocuments for concussion and
brain injury.
The current ones are out ofBerlin and Amsterdam.
Those are kind of where all thesmart people in the world get
together.
And it is a very squishy, uh,diagnosis.
One of them is, is that on animage, they see a bleed in the
(02:57):
brain.
So, so basically, it's as muchof a symptomatic diagnosis as is
it actually an imagingdiagnosis.
One of the best ways to actuallytest concussions.
If you had one or a traumaticbrain injury is two things with
a good eye examination or also aQEEG.
(03:22):
That is what we do withneurofeedback that we're able
to, uh, pre, pre scan, uh, likea, uh, athlete and then post
scan or people do come in, uh,after some type of an injury
that has not had a pre scan andthere are many good indicators
from the scan that can tell usif they, if that was a potential
(03:44):
cause.
bindwaves-host (03:47):
Yeah.
Um, I think it's reallyinteresting how, um, how all of
this has started because of, um,your mother experienced
something, uh, stroke or, andyou have also mentioned a lot
of, uh, traumatic brain injuryand the concussions.
Um, from what you haveexperienced, like, what do you
think are the most importantsteps to take and possibly
(04:09):
immediately, um, after gettingthese feelings of either a
concussion or a TBI?
dr--robert-baric (04:15):
So that is the, that is the million dollar
question.
And basically why I get up inthe morning because, um, a
little bit of physiology, yourbrain weighs 1 percent of your
body consumes 25 percent of yourcalories.
And obviously we all know ourbrain controls everything.
So it's super important to getthe brain.
up and running as quickly aspossible.
(04:37):
And when a brain has some typeof a head bump that could be in
a bathroom, or that could be ina sporting event, or that could
be, we want to maintain theenergy systems in the brain.
And the brain is very unique.
It can run on glucose, whichprobably all of ours are running
on right now, or it can run onketones and ketones do not get
(04:58):
turned off.
The brain does not turn them offor turn them down more
appropriately when it has a TBI.
So as soon as you suspect theTBI, we want to get the brain
into ketosis as quick aspossible.
Uh, why?
Because your brain is just a, ahuge compilation of pumps.
And is it, is it the sodiumpotassium pumps?
(05:19):
Is it the glymphatic pumps?
Um, and I almost use the exampleof, um, Uh, New Orleans, right?
New Orleans is a cityunderwater.
So if what, if the pump stopped,it backs up.
If, if the brain cannot getenough energy during this super
critical time, the glymphaticsdo not drain, the membranes do
not drain.
(05:40):
And basically all of that sludgethat the brain's constantly
producing backs up.
And then as a result, itbasically turns to glue and now
we're in a mess.
So energy restoration is by farthe number one thing you want to
try to restore.
And, and it is, you have to usealternate sources.
(06:01):
We use a thing called exogenousketones.
Basically, it puts youimmediately into ketosis.
So, We're finalizing developinga product where it's, it's the
acute, if you have a concussion,it's like an eight to 10 day
program where you're, you'retaking a combination of ketones
and other various antiinflammatory, uh, agents,
(06:23):
natural ones that get into theblood brain barrier.
So the brain can kind of limpalong while it's, while that
bruise is going on.
And it doesn't basically getclogged up with all the toxins
of the cells trying to recoveronline.
bindwaves-host (06:38):
Okay.
Um, I do love that.
Um, um, New Orleans, but I'mgoing to back up just a little
bit because I have, I'm going tomake it more generic just for
the listeners on concussion.
Like you talked about, you know,a bump on your head, maybe in a
sporting event, maybe in thebathtub.
So at what point do you havethat bump that you make your
(06:59):
loved one or whoever it is, goto the hospital and make sure
it's gone?
It is, it is or is not aconcussion and that it's, that
our ketones are working and thatwe need to do something because
my mom falls a little bit toomuch and I can't always get her
to go to the doctor or to thehospital to check.
Does that make sense?
I want to make sure people knowwhat they should be doing right
(07:20):
away.
dr--robert-baric (07:21):
Okay, so I want to take just a minute and
talk about traumatic injury,TBI, traumatic brain injury or
concussion.
Oftentimes people think of one.
It's not.
It's when you fall on your headwhen you're two years old and
then when you fall when you're16 and then when you fall off
the bike or when you bump yourhead in the shower.
(07:42):
So what we've learned is, isit's the cumulative effect of
all these mild, moderate headbumps.
They add together.
You ask a simple question.
You can't run off to theemergency room every time and
get a CAT scan.
You are correct.
So, you know, the, the easy andquick one, when you absolutely
(08:02):
have to, is if you have pupilsthat do not follow each other.
So if you shine a light in oneeye and one, and one pupil gets
small, but the other gets big,stays big, immediately to the
ER, 100 percent rapid.
But that again is extremelyrare.
So, so you raise a simplequestion of, you're now into
(08:23):
this huge gray area of, well, doyou have one or do you not?
And it's a little bit of a.
How do you err on the side ofsafety?
But as you say, if your mombumps her head once a week, you
can't run to the emergency roomevery time.
Uh, the eyes, specifically eyemovements, can give you a lot of
(08:43):
information as far as, is thebrain having trouble, uh,
processing that, but you canalso ask them situational, what
did you have for lunch?
You know, what day is it?
Who's president?
Uh, what's, what's, you know,where were you born?
They're going to remember theold stuff.
It's the, what did they do 30minutes ago?
(09:04):
You know, who, who, where, whereare they at?
Where's their situationalawareness?
So there's a lot of, there's alot of tests that you can just
give.
It's called SCAT tests, whereyou're just asking questions.
And these are, these are timesensitive questions.
Where you ate lunch today,right?
That, that kind of situationalthings that, Oh yeah, I had
(09:26):
breakfast.
What did you eat for breakfast?
I had blah, blah, blah.
And, um, so you can do like a,an inventory, you can do a
simple exam.
Um, but again, it's, you're inthis huge gray area that the
world is in.
You can't run off to theemergency room and get a CAT
scan every time you have a headbump.
Otherwise your mom just got tocheck into the hospital.
bindwaves-host (09:46):
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I think, uh, all of us asbrain injury survivors or stroke
survivors that have had thisexperience were like, Oh, yeah,
the doctors asked me that allthe time.
But you know what?
Uh, we got this comment in oneof our, uh, conversations in
another episode that we are, weare really good doctors for
ourselves.
(10:06):
And we need to think about that.
Like we should ask thosequestions when we have this
experience, right?
Um, so I think that was reallygood to know.
Um, but what are some commonmisconceptions of like having a
concussion and like how werecover?
dr--robert-baric (10:24):
So everybody, I mean, I think the human
default is to say, Oh, I'm fine.
It was just a head bump.
And the reality is, is.
It wasn't, or it oftentimes isnot.
So that is where that, thatobjective second person is going
to be real critical becausethey're going to say, no, your,
(10:47):
your balance isn't as good, oryou're confused or, um, your,
you know, there's, they're justnot situational aware and, and
like the current working diagramand the current working
documents.
You need to look at the eyes asfar as tracking and as far as
the thing called saccades,saccades are, imagine you're
(11:08):
looking out your car and you're,you're not the, you're a
passenger and you see somethingand then you, your eyes jump
ahead and you see somethingagain.
And then you see, so those arecalled saccades, saccades are,
uh, uh, convergence, or youreyes tracking the pen, uh, is
your balance where it needs tobe.
Uh, what's going on with yourcervical spine?
(11:29):
This oftentimes is a huge area.
This is recommended that it mustbe checked with everybody who
has a potential TBI because yourneck gives your brain all kinds
of proprioceptive information.
So we really are getting a lotof clarity.
As far as an assessment, it'sstill not a hundred percent, but
there's somebody that has a headbump.
(11:53):
We want to, we want to justcheck all of them, not just, Oh,
rest, rest is important, butit's not the only one.
bindwaves-host (12:00):
Yeah, that's, that's really important to
understand.
And I think that earlier youwere mentioning a lot of like,
The needs of like nutrition andmeta.
I can't say these words.
Metabolic needs.
Yes, Carrie said it.
That's why we work together.
Um, so how is that so importantfor, like, a post, um, injury
(12:23):
and also for recovery after aconcussion?
I think you were mentioningearlier, but why is it so
important?
dr--robert-baric (12:30):
Okay.
So the critical time, anytimeyou have a head bump is really
the first, as quick as possible,but for the first 10 days,
because the brain is producing,the brain, again, the brain is
ravenous.
It's consuming 25 percent ofyour, your calories through the,
the, you know, glucose system.
(12:50):
So, and what is, what are those,what are those calories being
used for?
Well, there's, they're notrunning up and downstairs.
They're maintaining.
Energy potentials.
They're basically pumping,they're trying to keep certain
electrons on one side of thecell compared to the other.
Uh, they're detoxifying.
So without that, that the brainis constantly fighting or
(13:15):
constantly make, keeping theseenergy potentials to allow the
brain to function correctly.
When a brain has a TBI, many ofthose systems do not fail
totally, but they greatly reduceand they, they reduce so much
that they no longer can get ridof the junk that the glial cells
are producing.
Um, we've all heard of ourlymphatic system, but in the
(13:36):
brain we have glial cells with aG and they, there's a glymphatic
system and the brain's just notable to detoxify.
So that energy is super dupercritical.
And as I had said, the glucosesystem oftentimes either greatly
reduces or fails post traumaticbrain injury, post head bump.
And that is why this, that, thatintroduction of ketones is so
(14:00):
critical.
Think of it as, as you're inTexas, right?
You have a backup generator.
Well, all those people inHouston that didn't have a
backup generator for four days.
Weren't having good days, buteverybody who did have a backup
generator, it was a whole lotbetter.
They weren't as good as theywere without it, but I think
they were very happy.
They had it for those days when,when the power was out.
bindwaves-host (14:19):
Exactly.
Um, so we're talking a lot aboutthe metabolic needs and that,
but how does nutrition play inall this?
I mean, it seems like nutritionwanted to help you boost that
energy.
dr--robert-baric (14:33):
correct.
So you have natural antiinflammatories that you can
take.
And is that, is that curcumin oris that vitamin D or fish oil or
N acetylcysteine oracetylcholine?
There are many things you cankind of help.
The brain and its metabolicchallenge.
And it's super important thatwhen you take something here, it
(14:56):
needs to go down, get absorbed,and then get through the blood
brain barrier.
The blood brain barrier is ascreen door here.
It is super duper difficult toget through.
And that, to give you anexample, heaven forbid somebody
has brain cancer, a cancer intheir head, they can't give them
chemo agents.
Why?
Because the chemo agents can'tget through the thing called the
blood brain barrier.
(15:17):
Um, so there are many thingsnaturally from vitamin D and
fish oil, as I said, there'smany nutrients that can be very
neuroprotective.
Yeah.
When there is a, some type of ahead bump or a stroke, either
one.
I mean, both are the same.
bindwaves-host (15:33):
Interesting.
Um, I think this is probably thefirst conversation that we have
at like this.
I'm like, interesting.
This is just like, my mind islike, in awe of all the
information that you're givingus.
This is really good.
I think that this is somethingthat you offer in your, in your
practice.
dr--robert-baric (15:50):
So we've, we've kind of backed into this
because I see, I'm boardcertified in neurofeedback and,
and I see people that are comingin with anxiety, depression,
ADD, ADHD, and this is not theonly cause, but when I start
doing a history, Oh, you start,you have anxiety.
It's been here for three years.
Okay.
And I proactively, I said, soany traumas?
(16:12):
No, I haven't had any traumas.
Then I say, okay, tell me aboutany head bumps or auto accidents
or stuff like that.
Five to seven years prior.
Oh yeah, I had one.
Oh, how are you before that?
You know what?
I didn't have the anxiety.
So many of these simple traumasof life is that an auto
accident?
Is that a fall in the shower?
Is that a sporting event?
(16:33):
I was working with an NFL playeryesterday.
Anxiety beyond a belief.
Um, so we have very good resultswith neurofeedback in fixing
this.
But it's so much easier to dealwith a little problem than a big
problem.
And I'm an analogy person.
If you have, you know, heavenforbid, we all have fire
extinguishers in our house, butsomething's left in the oven too
(16:54):
long.
Oh my gosh, spray it out.
Yeah.
I got a little mess.
But if I leave it in the ovenand I leave, I might come back
and the flames might be comingthrough the roof.
Most people have, theircondition has been able to
smolder so long that now I havea massive issue.
And again, my, my, my kind ofsecret sauce in life is I keep
(17:15):
asking why, why, why, why, why,why, why?
Uh huh.
So if we can put out the fire inthe stove, we don't burn the
whole house down.
Um, so I, I think I, what wasyour question again?
Cause I want to make sure toanswer that is, is.
bindwaves-host (17:30):
Yeah, no, I actually was just wondering if
this is something that you likeoffering your practice, but now
that you're talking more aboutit, I think it's also important
for our listeners to understandneurofeedback.
And like, how is that involvedalso in the recovery and the
treatment?
dr--robert-baric (17:50):
Okay, so, so, let me give you 30 second
history.
Neurofeedback started in 1965with NASA.
In the Gemini space program, theastronauts were having seizures
around rocket fuel.
So they bring in Dr.
Barry Sternman, he does a thingcalled a QEEG, he puts a cap on
their head, goop in their hair,we gather 20, 000 data points.
Basically that tells me ifthey're a good candidate or not.
(18:11):
Uh, everything is based on data,every astronaut gets
neurofeedback to date.
Basically, I'm a mechanic ofyour brain.
So think of, you have, in yourcar you have a check engine
light.
Well, you don't know what's on,but something's going on.
So we're able to basically put acap on the head and we're able
to gather 10, 000 data pointseyes closed, 10, 000 data points
eyes open.
(18:32):
Tells me if you're a goodcandidate or not and then
basically tells me what do weneed to improve, what do we need
to fix.
Um, so what, what does thatmean?
That, there's basically the bigpsychological term is operant
conditioning or behaviorism, butin the real world it's called
puppy training.
When your brain does what wewant, we reward it.
When your brain doesn't, we takethe reward away.
(18:52):
So I'm not shocking the brain.
I'm not doing anything.
I'm just, I'm just the biggestcheerleader.
Good job, good job, good job, orI ignore it.
Um, they're just in watchingtelevision.
So the three, three things wesee the majority are anxiety,
depression, ADD, ADHD, andinsomnia, sleep issues.
And those are ways that we'reable to using the principle of
(19:14):
neuroplasticity able to kind ofre, I don't want to say
reprogram, but optimize thebrain.
So the brain is able to stay ontask or the beta waves are
higher on the left side of yourhead, which is associated with
low anxiety or depression orthat kind of stuff.
But that's neurofeedback, notbeen around since 1965, it's
(19:36):
been around forever.
The technology has gotten veryconsistent.
And then like in my world,you're, I tell people, you have
four brains in your body.
You have a right brain, a leftbrain, you have a thyroid brain
and a gut brain.
And so many people come in thatwe have to help them with their
gut as much as this brain,because the happy hormones come
out of the gut.
(19:57):
In a, in a TBI, in a, like that,um, We want to reduce the, the
energy drain on the brain.
What does that mean?
We want to put them in a darkroom.
We want them to get off screens.
We want them to be able to lowerthe load on the brain.
If you're watching screens, ifyou're on a phone, uh, you're on
(20:18):
a TV, your brain is thinking,thinking, thinking, thinking,
thinking, well, if we can justkind of have it glide for a bit,
it will, it will use less energyand then the brain will be able
to allocate more energy tohealing.
bindwaves-host (20:31):
I love that.
Um, but real quick, before I askmy next question, I have to take
a quick little pause and justremind our listeners to go ahead
and click the buttons thatyou're on, whatever you're
watching or listening, go aheadand click the like share or
whatever it may be.
And just keep on listening.
And then, everything that you'resaying, um, makes perfect sense,
(20:52):
but since you talked about thefour different brains, um, one
of my questions that I was, thatI was thinking about is, so, and
we keep saying concussionbecause I guess that's kind of
what we thought was going to bemore about concussion, but yes,
we're very familiar with TBI, Imean, we're stroke survivors, so
we're very familiar with TBI,and A lot of people don't think
they're the same thing becausethey're like, Oh no, I just had
(21:13):
a mild concussion.
I didn't have a TBI.
But whether it be a mildconcussion or a very traumatic
brain injury, how does, um, Iforgot, um, how does that impact
the whole body?
It's not just the brain that'saffected.
I mean, I kind of know that andKezia kind of knows that, but we
want our listeners to understandthat more and that it's not
just, and I'm not talkingphysical problems.
(21:36):
I'm talking, um, You know,because the brain controls
everything that's going on.
I don't remember what brain yousaid this was, or the gut brain,
but I mean the brain braincontrols everything.
dr--robert-baric (21:48):
Okay.
So there's two, there's twoconversations.
We'll kind of summarize themquick.
Your brain, as I said, consumes25 percent of your calories.
Your energy comes out of yourthyroid.
So your energy, your thyroidcreates the rate of glucose burn
and oftentimes we will pick upfunctional hypothyroid from the
scan.
(22:08):
So the scan will tell us there'sa problem.
Then we'll do further blood workto see what's going on with the
thyroid.
And, and sadly, many times thethyroid blood work done by
primary care is not adequateenough to get a true assessment.
Um, so you need to do a muchmore thorough thyroid workup.
In addition, in the gut, the gutis, Primarily IgG or food
(22:31):
sensitivities or delayedreactions or leaky gut, stuff
like that.
So that's kind of the fourbrains, but in the research, The
brain affects the GI system, soit'll cause you to potentially
have leaky gut if you have atraumatic brain injury.
Uh, visual.
You have dizziness.
I have, I have convergence.
I have reading fatigue.
(22:53):
I have, um, uh, vertigo.
Any of those things.
Cardiac.
When you have a TBI, it actuallyaffects how your, your heart
functions.
So it affects cardiac outputand, uh, creating more
inflammation and catecholamines.
Musculoskeletal, the higher riskof musculoskeletal injuries,
like your mom who's fallennumerous times, that is, that's
(23:14):
a crazy, you know, ideallysomebody gets her into a balance
program because one more fall,somebody hits their head, boom,
they're by themself and theydon't make it.
Cognitive behavioral moodissues.
So empathy, depression, anxiety,um, it messes up your hormones.
So like being ladies,absolutely.
(23:36):
It can affect your female cyclesand, uh, sleep oftentimes
disturbed.
And then we talked about thatblood brain barrier.
I mean, and that's what all theresearch has shown so far.
So any one of those eightsystems can go offline or all of
them.
When you get a TBI.
bindwaves-host (23:54):
Yeah, I think that's also just really
interesting because it's more ofan explanation on how we, like,
with one, with a stroke or a TBIor a concussion, how much it
changes our whole body, um, my,one of my questions was going to
be about, like, some long termeffects of concussions, if not
(24:14):
treated, you just mentioned alot of them, um, but what would
be a good way to treat?
Um, after a concussion,
dr--robert-baric (24:25):
So, you know, you want the working documents,
sadly, um, the workingdocuments, there are not enough
people who are following them.
And what is the workingdocument?
You get the smartest people inthe world in, To work on this.
And I'm certified in traumaticbrain injury.
(24:47):
And I would tell my patients,I'm going to the conference and
I'm the dumbest one in the room.
And they, they're very politeand they say, Oh, you're not
dumb.
I said, I didn't say I was dumb.
I just said, I'm the dumbest onein the room.
And what that means is, is I'min the right room.
And just, just the, the, thepresenter was dual faculty at
Harvard and Cambridge.
The person beside me was TBI forAustralia.
The guy behind me was TBI forEurope.
(25:10):
I mean, it's just like insanelysmart people.
So the data is there.
It's just, it's not being used.
They run to their pediatricianand their pediatrician's great,
but they're not the right one.
Or the neurologist, theirneurologists are too busy
dealing with MS.
So you almost have to go topeople that are specially
trained in TBI, um, to do that.
So you ask a simple question.
(25:31):
For instance, my mother, one ofthe main onuses for me to get in
neurofeedback, she was 72 at thetime of her stroke.
I got her one year post stroke.
So with my siblings, theydidn't, they, they, we ran to
this rehab and this rehab andthis rehab and this rehab.
And after all that was done,They said, okay, now you can
deal with it.
And as you know, in a stroke,you got a honeymoon.
(25:51):
Your honeymoon is from one dayto three months, maybe six
months.
And whatever you're at, you'rekind of at.
So I took a 72 year old womanwho couldn't feed herself, walk
without a walker, dress herself,care for herself, shower,
bathroom, commode.
A year later, I got her to doall those things.
And it's, the brain is sopliable.
(26:14):
It was just neuroplasticity.
Um, think of as you're trying todrive from to your favorite
place, but there's a bridge out.
Well, you're not going to waituntil that bridge opens up.
You're going to take anotherroute, but you have to poke the
brain enough to say, Hey, drivea little farther, but get around
because they're going to, it'sgoing to be three years before
they open that bridge up.
So, so the brain has phenomenal.
(26:34):
Neuroplasticity, as long as youcan get it in the best metabolic
state possible.
I mean, hyperbaric chambers,amazing.
You want to do those as quick aspossible.
You want to get them up toenough atmospheres where, you
know, you're pushing more oxygeninto the brain to get over that
speed bump of recovery.
Is it never too late?
(26:55):
It's, I don't want to say it'snever too late.
The brain always impresses us.
I, I, I, I, the brain alwaysmakes me silly when I say, oh,
this can't happen.
Uh, but this, the earlier, thebetter anytime you have a, of a,
of an injury or any event.
bindwaves-host (27:10):
No, absolutely.
And that's one of the big thingswe say around here is we're just
going to be in lifelongrecovery.
We're not ever going to be done,which is okay.
Fortunately, we're still aliveto continue to work on our
recovery and get better.
dr--robert-baric (27:23):
Right.
But there's so many things anindividual can do at home.
You can go on Amazon and buy aBrock string for 10 bucks,
right?
You can go and get a foam padagain on Amazon for 20 bucks and
stand on it.
And it's going to help yourbalance.
It's going to help.
There's so, there's so much anindividual can do in their own
venue, but there's just,nobody's teaching it to you,
bindwaves-host (27:46):
No, absolutely.
And that brings me to anotherquestion.
So, and not really just with thepatient, but do you collaborate
with other.
healthcare professionals forthis particular person or
whoever it may be to help createa more comprehensive treatment
for your patient so that you'reall together.
dr--robert-baric (28:04):
Absolutely.
So I'm going to work.
Many of them come in with sometype of psychiatric meds.
Is that anxiety, depression,whatever.
Uh, so we work with them and wework with functional med docs.
We have, I work with one of thebest functional med doctors in
mid, mid Atlantic and why wehave to get this blood brain
barrier.
We have to get the autoimmunethat oftentimes is present in an
(28:27):
individual.
These are the ones that don't,they, they don't heal on their
own.
And um, you know, I mean we're,we're in a very collaborative, I
really, I know what I know welland I am 100%.
Hey, that we need to get you tothis physical therapist to work
on balance exercises, or we needto work on this OT, or we need
to get this functional med docto get your, your hormones
(28:49):
right.
Um, while your body's in thisrecovery mode, because if it
doesn't, it'll just neverrecover.
It'll hit a wall.
bindwaves-host (28:58):
Yeah, and I think, um, I think that's really
important to know for sure.
Um, and also, especially forour, like, new brain injury
survivors, which is really themain, the main, um, listeners
that we have from, right?
Um, Because time is so, it'sgold, um, and time is so
important and then also justreceiving the help from the
(29:20):
correct, um, providers and whowe're going to and who our
family is going to for the help.
Um, I would love to thank youfor coming to us.
Um, thank you so much, Robert,um, Beric.
Um, I just wanted to give youone more chance if you would
like to say anythingspecifically to our listeners,
(29:41):
any advice or anything that youthink is just so important for
you to tell our listeners.
dr--robert-baric (29:46):
Yeah.
So again, it's, it's, uh, braininjury is not an individual
event.
It's a family event.
And it's, it's not, it's not theone person because oftentimes
that one person can reallychange And it can make a huge
factor through the whole family.
Um, and that's all through theliterature.
So I guess my thoughts are istry to try to aggressively get
(30:09):
the brain in the best metabolicstate as possible, as quickly as
possible after any suspectedone.
Uh, um, I mean, that's why I'mbringing out that concussion 9 1
1.
Concussion 9 1 1 is basically afirst aid kit for the brain.
Boom.
You have any type of a headbump.
Mild, Moderate, Severe.
It's a, it's a powder you takefor 8 to 10 days.
(30:30):
What it's doing is it'sprotecting the brain.
It's trying to minimize the,minimize the, um, um, negative
metabolic residual effects.
Uh, number two, if you've hit awall, go to a different place.
Right?
Don't, oh, this doctor, hey,this is one person.
Right?
They might be the best kidneyperson, but you need a vision
(30:52):
person.
Right?
And, and, um, there are, thereis an amazing network of people
that can, unbelievable thingswith traumatic brain injury and
strokes.
And the, the, the technologyjust, I mean, the technology is
there, but it's just easier toeverybody wants a pill.
(31:13):
It's not a pill, right?
It's, it's, it's, uh, there, thetechnology is there to heal so
many things.
Um, I mean, in our office, Imean, we have people that are
out of wheelchairs that havebeen there for 10 years.
So it's, it's, you can dounbelievable recovery.
The brain will always prove youwrong.
If you think you've hit a wall,it'll always prove it wrong.
(31:34):
You just have to give it theright nutrients, the right
training, the right challenges,the right exercises, and it'll
figure a way to route around.
And maybe you're not, you'llnever get a hundred percent,
but.
You know, my mother, she's agreat case.
She was never going to live onher own again.
But she can go to the bathroomby herself, shower herself,
dress herself, feed herself,walk without a walker.
(31:56):
What was her quality of life?
What was her quality of thepeople's parents, the people in
our lives?
Huge.
So, don't settle for whereyou're at.
bindwaves-host (32:05):
Yeah.
dr--robert-baric (32:06):
But thank you.
Thank you for your time, and Ilook forward to, uh, uh, you
know, hearing good things abouteverything that's going on.
bindwaves-host (32:12):
All right.
Well, again, thank you so much.
And you will be able, we willprovide Dr.
Baird's information in thedescription as well.
And then I want to take thistime again to remind our
listeners that you can contactus or email us at BINDWAVES at
the BIND.
org as well as follow us onInstagram at at BINDWAVES or
check out the website, the BIND.
(32:34):
org slash BINDWAVES.
Yep.
And so much for you, Dr.
Baric and all of our listenersto know that all of the
information for you will be inour description.
And thank you so much for reallysharing us your experience on
concussion and helping ourlisteners about the importance
(32:55):
of brain health.
So thank you so much.
And obviously to our listeners,don't forget to like us on all
of your social media platforms,uh, and listen to us every
Thursday.
dr--robert-baric (33:06):
Bye, folks.
bindwaves-host (33:08):
you can find us all on every Thursday.
That's okay.
So until next time.
Until next time.
We hope you've enjoyed listeningto BIND Waves and continue to
support BIND and our non profitmission.
We support brain injurysurvivors as they reconnect into
the life, the community, andtheir workplace.
And we couldn't do that withoutgreat listeners like you.
We appreciate each and every oneof you.
(33:28):
Continue watching.
Until next time.
Until next time.
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