#82 with Ben Velazquez on Concussions, Brain, and Movement

Ben is an award-winning, nationally recognized strength and conditioning coach and the expert in concussion exercise solutions. [4:30] Introduction Ben is an award-winning, nationally recognized strength and conditioning coach and the expert in concussion exercise solutions. [9:04] Neurological, mechanical and hormonal components in TBI “All the inflammatory markers that a doctor is looking at will be elevated, systemic inflammatory markers will be elevated and if it's allowed to go long-term we're seeing a lot of the same systems as autoimmune.” [19:22] Injuries can lead to increased risk of concussion “So that ankle injury, if it's not rehabbed 100% and you're not 100% ready to go on that ankle, then in my opinion you're creating an environment where you can't dissipate force and if you can't dissipate force, you're more likely to get hurt with an impact than someone who doesn't have an ankle injury.” [25:07] Best things to do if you get a concussion “I think the first thing that I would do is to change your diet… The biochemistry plays a huge role from a standpoint that you want to lower inflammation, number one, and you want to provide more ATP to your brain and the neurons in your brain.” [27:00] How exercise can be beneficial post-concussion “..You’re going to decrease your cardiac efficiency or your cardiorespiratory efficiency, and so just by doing that you're going to deliver less ATP to the cells in brain for healing.” [35:28] Supplements to promote brain healing Turmeric, curcumin, CoQ10 and Omega-3’s “Those are the things he's using to lower inflammation, but primarily he's putting most of our guys and gals on Ketogenic diets. [43:20] Biohacking recommendations to be a better athlete - Heart rate variability, hydration, and mobility “So my athletes, the intracellular hydration is very important to what you said, which is you know that whole vitamin, mineral cascade that depends on water for that exchange in the cell. That's important, but then there's extracellular which is really the hydration you're talking about in the fascia and all the connective tissue.” http://benvelazquez.com/ Thank you listeners!! Please leave a review if you enjoyed and checkout my links below to get plugged in more to what I'm doing. PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP: www.facebook.com/groups/1292792567518714/ Find more on Em here: @emilyschromm www.emilyschromm.com youtube.com/emilyschromm