Concussion Therapy: Functional Neurology Center and Carter Biese
Biese Brothers Racing is partnering with the Functional Neurology Center in Minnetonka, Minnesota, for the 2021 motocross season.
Concussions are an unfortunate reality of many sports and because the injury is not visible, they are not always recognized as legitimate injuries. However, anyone who has ever suffered any level of post-concussion syndrome can tell you the effects and side effects are real and can vary from unnoticeable to debilitating.
Just two weeks prior to the 2018 AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship, team rider Carter Biese suffered a puzzling injury following a fall at ClubMX in South Carolina. The fall did not result in loss of consciousness or exhibit any traditional signs of a concussion. On the contrary, Carter was able to return to training the next day. Three days after the crash he awoke with a headache and an upset stomach. His symptoms got progressively worse. Carter sought the help of both an optometrist and the local neurologist. Unfortunately, little if any progress ensued and he spent the next 8 months with a blank stare in his face, chronic fatigue, headaches, high sensitivity to light and numerous other symptoms. He missed a significant amount of school and could not function at his normal level.
Carter’s misery and never-give-up attitude fueled his relentless search for help. After more than six months of searching, he stumbled upon a Joe Rogan Podcast that identified what he too, was feeling and gave him hope. His search finally led him to Dr. Jeremy Schmoe at The Functional Neurology Center in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Carter enrolled in The FNC’s Intensive Therapy program which included three sessions per day, five days a week.
“Just two days into therapy I could see the difference in Carter’s face that things were improving,” shared his dad, Scott. “By the end of the first week, I still felt he needed more therapy, so we went back for a second week. Following the end of that second week, Dr. Schmoe gave him clearance to ride. Things still took a bit of time after that initial visit, but daily improvement was noticeable. We revisited Dr. Schmoe two more times over the next year for a quick one day ‘tune-up’ to eliminate some lingering effects, but Carter is back to where he was pre-traumatic brain injury.”
The Biese Brothers mission is to use Carter’s experience to help others that suffer similar traumatic brain injuries. It is important for others to understand there is hope and help if you know where to turn.
“We made the same mistake many others do by thinking ‘time’ alone would heal Carter. Had we known where to turn right from the day of the injury we could have shortened Carter’s recovery time by almost a year,” explains Carters mom, Lori Biese. “We don’t want to see anyone go through what our family did with this injury. The impact of watching Carter struggle with managing his symptoms pulled at all our heartstrings. If sharing our story can assist others in finding help faster and directing them to Dr. Schmoe and his staff at The FNC then we are able to help lessen the struggles we went through with this debilitating injury.”
For more information about The Functional Neurology Center, please visit them at www.theFNC.com.
With two healthy team members going into next season, you will see a lot more of the Biese Brothers. They plan on attending almost all of the large AMA major and featured events in 2021.
Team Sponsors: The Functional Neurology Center, FantasyMoto.com, Powerband Racing, Fly Racing, Scott USA, Black Diamond MX, Torq1, FMF, Bel-Ray, Rekluse, Vertex, Hot Rods, Williams Motorwerx, Tamer Holeshot Hook-up, DP Brakes, Blu Cru, Rock River Powersports, Dunlop, Club57, WW Ranch, ODI, Monster Army, Pit Posse, Nihilo Concepts, Powersports1.
Main Image Courtesy of Vurb Moto
