Day by Day is a health and wellness center that specializes in concussion management and recovery, launching in phases starting in 2013. Phase 1 will be a sports recovery program serving athletes in the Northern Virginia area. We will provide advocacy, education, and on-site and off-site evaluation and sports training/recovery services. Additionally, our location gives us a unique opportunity to work with political figures at the federal level.
Concussion is a serious and often life-changing issue – it’s not an inconsequential hit to the head. But early and effective treatment can mitigate serious issues and enable a return to play at full athletic and cognitive capacity.
Day by Day provides concussion assessment training to coaches and school administrators, baseline testing to all enrolled athletes, evaluation after a possible concussion, education to maximize outcome, and ongoing support and training to those who need it. A crucial point of our education program is the importance of sleep, nutrition, and exercise, and demonstrating how the early adoption of a good recovery program will yield the best results for recovery and return to sport. We also take long-term outcome very seriously, checking up with athletes after initial rehab and assembling additional cognitive and physical regimens when necessary, such as in cases of post-concussion syndrome.
The majority of an athlete’s time at Day by Day will be in the fitness center, where certified exercise specialists work with him or her one-on-one to recover over time, with the goal of returning to play. Our staff coordinates recovery programs with the athlete’s own medical professionals. For further support, a physical therapist is also on call. And as our facility grows, we will be employing interns studying in the field of sports medicine.
A core method at Day by Day is our technology-assisted recovery program, which exercises the brain by utilizing game scenarios and virtual reality to engage and encourage each athlete in a regimen tailored to his or her specific needs. Increasingly in recent years, virtual reality is being demonstrated as a reliably effective way to improve the efficacy of physical and cognitive rehabilitation. Well-known rehab/research institutions such as Craig Hospital and the University of Southern California have seen integrative approaches to recovery yield dramatic measurable advances in outcome. We believe that engaging the mind is necessary for maintaining motivation, and motivation is crucial to recovery.
Day by Day will also be gathering and developing educational and support materials to meet the wider needs of injured athletes, their families, and the healthcare and sports professionals in their lives. Our information hub will provide educational videos, audio recordings, and books on concussion and other challenges, as well as contact with various assistive agencies and healthcare providers.
Our team has been very active and knowledgeable in the field of brain injury recovery for several years and is very excited to take our diverse collection of knowledge and make it real by bringing all of these ideas and techniques together into a single program.