A concussion can put your life on hold. But doctors in Pittsburgh say they\u2019ve cracked the code, and it\u2019s care that people from around the world will travel to get.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t describe the mounds of depression,\u201d concussion patient Liad Charnoff said. \u201cI had so many limitations. I couldn\u2019t leave the house for so long a time.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was reality for Charnoff after she suffered a concussion while playing soccer in 2023. She\u2019d recovered quickly from previous concussions, but this one was different. <\/p>\n
Charnoff\u2019s symptoms lingered, disrupting every part of her life. Doctors in Israel, where she lives, had few answers. <\/p>\n
\u201cI would literally, I would, like, cry in their office,\u201d Charnoff said. \u201cI\u2019m like, please don\u2019t tell me to just rest. Like, I am begging you. There\u2019s something else to do. I\u2019m begging you. And I was also told that I was never going to play soccer again.\u201d<\/p>\n
The help she needed was 6,000 miles away, at UPMC, which is considered ground zero for concussion research and treatment. They were already taking the different approach Charnoff was searching for. <\/p>\n
Dr. Michael Collins established the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program 25 years ago. Since then, they\u2019ve challenged the standard approach for treatment. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no dark rooms in our clinics,\u201d said Collins, who serves as program director, \u201cand we\u2019re not turning down lights and taking kids out of school, telling them to lay down during the day. We\u2019re actually prescribing exercise and rehabilitation, and taking a very, kind of, real aggressive, active approach in getting them better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Charnoff experienced that first-hand when she traveled to Pittsburgh in August. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was getting so dizzy and nauseated from the exercises,\u201d Charnoff said. \u201cThey said to me, if you vomit, that\u2019s fine. We have a bucket, keep going. And I was just like, OK, let\u2019s do this.\u201d<\/p>\n
The concussion program is celebrating 25 years of innovation. High-profile patients and people from around the world have walked through their doors, often leaving with life-changing results. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really satisfying to see a patient walk out the door,\u201d said Research Director Dr. Anthony Kontos, \u201cand I have a clinic office, so I see this every day with a good outcome, smile on their face, when previously they would have thought there was nothing they could do for the injury.\u201d<\/p>\n
Charnoff is back to doing what she loves, playing soccer and soaking in every moment with her stepdaughter. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s everything. We get to enjoy life genuinely,\u201d Charnoff said. \u201cI love it, and my mood is better, so I\u2019m just a better person to be around as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Collins said, \u201cOur reputation is, you go to Pittsburgh, you get better for the concussion. I\u2019m proud of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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