Hey world. Sorry for the silence; it’s been about 2 1/2 months since my last post…or, as I tend to track time, one concussion.

What’s new? I’m back in the penalty box. For those of you who don’t know about the penalty box: it’s actual name is the NeuroCom Smart Balance Master. An aesthetically-insulting contraption developed by NASA grants, it’s the least fun you can have while wearing a harness. The walls and floor move (independently, with/without one another), and some activities are paired with feedback from the screen:

I’m going to pause, allowing you to work through and beyond your jealousy.

Sounds not all that bad, right? WRONG. First of all, you’re not in this thing just because it’s the closest you’re ever going to get to riding any sort of board ever again; you’re in it because you have the balance of an octogenarian (or worse!). Secondly, you’re actually doing more thinking than one realizes, plus tracking the cursor on the screen…and if you’re lucky, you’re doing this while fighting through nausea. If your eyes aren’t tracking well and your brain has slowed to a crawl, it can be a real hoot. My body/mind respond differently from session to session; however, it never ceases to amaze me just how exhausting ~45 minutes in the penalty box can really be! Pro tip: if you’re going to hang out in this thing, make sure you have a friendly, enjoyable Physical Therapist – it makes all the difference. I’d offer mine, but I don’t share (and, let’s be honest: I need him).

I have to admit that there is one thing I really like about the penalty box: quantitative results. Given the number of concussed athletes, I doubt I am alone in my frustration with concussion recovery: so many of the therapies can seem so subjective! Some of us want numbers: we want to know exactly where we stand (okay, sway); we want to know just how productive we’ve been and therefore how successful the therapy is; we want a number to identify, compete against, and ultimately crush!

So let’s talk through some of those numbers. At the end of an assessment, the penalty box spits out a number between 1-100. The first time I did a series of sessions in the penalty box, I started at 55. After several sessions, I ended with an 89(!), and no more ataxia. A couple more concussions meant another round of sessions: started at 34…plateaued at 55. We did some old-school therapy, then tried again: final score for that round of sessions: 86.

Yesterday was my first day of this session…and I’m starting at 36. Who knows what my progress will look like this time: maybe I finally break the 90’s…maybe I don’t even crack 80. Here’s the great thing, though: the numbers really don’t bother me. Several concussions ago, I would have gotten really down – people twice my age could easily manage a score twice mine; however, one of the many things all these concussions have taught me is that a low score is just a great start for an awesome comeback…or at least that’s what I’ve learned to tell myself…

Have you done work in the penalty box (NeuroCom Smart Balance Master)? I would love to hear about your experience!