Life After Impact: The Concussion Recovery Podcast
Life After Impact: The Concussion Recovery Podcast. This podcast is the go-to podcast for actionable information to help people recover from concussions, brain injuries, and post-concussion syndrome. Dr. Ayla Wolf does a deep dive in discussing symptoms, testing methods, treatment options, and resources to help people troubleshoot where they feel stuck in their recovery. The podcast brings you interviews with top experts in the field of concussions and brain injuries, and introduces a functional neurological mindset to approaching complex cases.
For those feeling lost, hopeless, or abandoned let this podcast be your guide to living your best life after impact. Subscribe now and start your journey to recovery!
Episodes
56 episodes
A Path to the First FDA Drug for Concussion? How Ghrelin Could Change Brain Injury Recovery with Dr. Vishal Bansal | E56
In this episode of Life After Impact: The Concussion Recovery Podcast, I sit down with trauma surgeon and researcher Dr. Vishal Bansal to explore what may become the first-ever FDA-approved pharmaceutical treatment for concussion
Hearing Loss, Tinnitus, & Hyperacusis: Treat Your Hearing, Protect Your Brain with Dr. Keith Darrow | E55
A “mild” hearing loss sounds harmless until you hear the data: it can raise the risk of cognitive decline and dementia by 200%. I sit down with Dr. Keith Darrow PhD, CCC-A, neuroscientist and clinical audiologist, to connect the dots between he...
Why Pain Doesn’t Always Match the Injury | Chronic Pain & Concussion Explained | E54
Pain isn’t a simple “damage equals symptoms” equation. Sometimes your nervous system turns the volume down so far you barely notice serious wear and tear, and other times it turns the volume up until every small sensation feels like an alarm. T...
When Concussion Symptoms Don’t End After Two Weeks | E53
A concussion can change your life in a second, but what happens when the people around you treat it like an excuse? Sarah Wuebbolt joins us to share what it’s really like navigating multiple concussions as a teenager while trying to keep up wit...
From TBI to The River Why to Empathic AI: Cameron Scott's Epic Journey | E52
A childhood head-on collision. A life shaped by traumatic brain injury. A moment of waking up after a suicide attempt and deciding, with total clarity, to choose life. Cameron Scott joins me for a raw, grounded conversation about what concussio...
The Hidden Habits That Can Speed Up — or Sabotage — Brain Recovery with Alex Lombardi | E51
Your brain doesn’t heal on your appointment schedule. It heals in the messy middle of real life, the mornings where you can’t think straight, the afternoons where your energy falls off a cliff, and the nights when you wonder if you’ll ever feel...
Fueling A Healing Brain with Natalie Gavi | E50
We talk with registered dietitian Natalie Gavi about how to use simple, evidence-led nutrition to support concussion recovery and long-term brain health. We trade myths for practical steps, from Mediterranean staples to smart supplements and st...
Ibogaine For Brain Injury Recovery with Navy Veteran Lorna Sturchio | E49
I sit down with Navy veteran and transformational trauma coach Lorna Sturchio to unpack how medically supervised ibogaine can catalyze rapid change for PTSD, addiction, and traumatic brain injury. Lorna’s story moves from combat trauma and MST ...
Breathwork After Concussion: How 5 Minutes of Breathing Can Calm Your Nervous System | E48
What if five minutes of the right breathing could calm a racing heart, clear morning fog, and steady your balance after a concussion? Dr. Ayla Wolf sits down with chiropractic neurologist Dr. Jonathan Chung to unpack the science and the how-to ...
The Path Back To Work After a Concussion with Nate Pope (Part 2) | E47
This is Part 2 of my conversation with Nate Pope from NCX Brain Recovery. Recovery stalls when life gets smaller. We’ve all seen it: light hurts, noise overwhelms, screens drain, so routines narrow and the brain doubles down on workarounds. We ...
The Path Back To Work After a Concussion with Nate Pope (Part 1) | E46
Your brain isn’t broken; it’s rerouting. We sit down with neuro‑occupational therapist Nate Pope to unpack why so many people with post‑concussion syndrome get stuck despite doing “all the right therapies.” Nate explains how functional MRI reve...
How the Love Your Brain Foundation Turns Isolation Into Community For TBI Survivors And Caregivers | E45
What if the most powerful medicine after a brain injury is feeling truly seen? We sit down with Kyla Pearce, Senior Director of Programs and Research at the Love Your Brain foundation, to explore how connection, mind‑body practices, and practic...
Strategies for Thriving (not just surviving) this Holiday Season with Chaandani Kahn (Part 2) | E44
We share practical ways to enjoy the holidays while protecting a healing brain, focusing on blood sugar, hydration, sleep, and realistic boundaries. We reframe FOMO, practice gentle resets, and stack small wins so recovery feels doable and mean...
Strategies for Thriving (not just surviving) this Holiday Season with Chaandani Kahn (Part1) | E43
Holidays can feel like a sensory obstacle course when you’re healing from a concussion or navigating post-concussion syndrome. We unpack a clear, compassionate plan to trade overwhelm for ease—without opting out of the moments that matter. With...
From Sidelines To Success: Concussion Rehab That Reduces Reinjury Risk | E42
A faster return isn’t always a safer one. We sit down with physiotherapist Kosta Ikonomou to unpack why musculoskeletal injuries spike two to three times after a concussion and how to build a recovery plan that restores performance, not just sy...
Dr. Adam Harcourt Explains Why Migraine Treatments Fail After Head Injury | E41
If “migraine” meds aren’t touching your headaches after a concussion, you might be chasing the wrong problem. Dr. Wolf sits down with Dr. Adam Harcourt, a board-certified functional neurologist and fourth-generation chiropractor, to unpack why ...
Seeing the Unseen: How Vestibular Rehab Can Transform Your Recovery w/ Dr. Helena Esmonde (Vestibular First) | E40
Do you still feel dizzy, off-balance, or disoriented months—or even years—after your concussion? You’re not imagining it. In this episode, Dr. Ayla Wolf sits down with Dr. Helena Esmonde, founder of Vestibular First and c...
Transformation is the Therapy: Rewriting Life After Concussion with Kevin Donahue | E39
A motorcycle crash in Ecuador set off a chain reaction Kevin Donahue couldn’t name at first: anger out of nowhere, brain fog, exhaustion, and a life that stopped making sense. When a friend connected the dots to concussion, everything changed—a...
The Missing Element in Concussion Prevention AND Recovery: Dr. Theo Versteegh Explains Topspin360 | E38
What if the fastest path to fewer concussions and better performance starts with how we train the neck? We sit down with physiotherapist, inventor, and researcher Dr. Theo Versteegh to unpack a novel training device that targets rapid, eccentri...
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The Body Keeps the Score—of Concussions: How the Nervous System Reveals Hidden Trauma | E37
Think your “sinus headache,” tight hamstring, or random insomnia is unrelated to your head? We trace surprising symptom chains back to the nervous system and show how hidden concussions often sit at the center of stubborn pain, sleep issues, ti...
Beyond Food: The Missing Nutrient Transforming Brain and Gut Health with Sarah Turner | E36
What if the missing element in your health isn't another supplement or diet change, but something as fundamental as light? In this illuminating conversation, Sarah Turner reveals how our modern indoor lifestyle has created a profound deficiency...
Gut Feelings: How Concussions Affect Your Digestion | E35
Have you ever wondered why your digestion seems to have gone haywire after a concussion? You're not alone, and there's a neurological explanation behind those new food sensitivities and stomach troubles.The brain-gut connection is far m...
New Frontiers in Concussion Research with Dr. Ioannis Mavroudis | E34
The quest to understand persistent brain symptoms after concussion has puzzled doctors and researchers for decades. What happens when the brain doesn't heal as expected? Why do some patients develop long-term problems while others recover compl...
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Concussion Rehab with Creator of the Brain Tool Kit App - Melissa Biscardi | E33
The nervous system after concussion often remains stuck in fight-or-flight, making traditional rehabilitation challenging at best. Melissa Biscardi, an osteopathic therapist, registered nurse, and PhD candidate, reveals why gentle manual therap...
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Brain Injuries with Dr. DeepSea - Dr. Joe Dituri | E32
What happens when a decorated Navy commander and world-record holder for living underwater becomes a traumatic brain injury patient himself? Dr. Joe Dituri's extraordinary journey from elite military diver to pioneering hyperbaric medicine rese...
