Nature-Based Therapy for People Suffering from Post-Concussion Syndrome—A Pilot Study

Abstract

Background: Approximately 10%-15% of people diagnosed with a concussion develop post-concussion syndrome (PCS), in which mental fatigue is a dominating symptom. PCS has major consequences for the individuals diagnosed, and society as a whole. Objective: The objective of the pilot study was to investigate whether a nature-based therapeutic (NBT) intervention would be suitable for ameliorating the symptoms experienced by people with PCS, especially mental fatigue. Method: Eight participants diagnosed with PCS took part in a NBT programme, which consisted of weekly two-hour sessions over the course of eight weeks. The participants' level of mental fatigue was measured on the Mental Fatigue Scale (MFS) before and after the intervention. An analogue scale inspired by the EuroQol-visual analogue scales (EQ-VAS) was used to measure immediate self-perceived feeling of health/ well-being before and after individual sessions. A semi-structured interview was held with each participant after the intervention. The interviews and logbooks were analysed through content analysis, which entails several steps in a spiral-like process, from reading and re-reading the transcripts to forming units of meaning, which were then grouped into sub-categories and categories for further analysis. Result: The MFS showed a significant decrease in mental fatigue and large effect size. The participants' self-assessed health/ well-being on the analogue scale showed an increase from the beginning to the end of each session. The analysis of the interviews revealed that the participants experienced the sensory stimuli and exercises in the natural environment as motivating and meaningful, even when they were challenging. Further, they found the psycho-educational aspects transferable to everyday life. Conclusion: The results support that NBT can have potential in the rehabilitation of PCS, by lowering mental fatigue and improving health

Garden Smellscape–Experiences of Plant Scents in a Nature-Based Intervention

“…This link between nature and human well-being, especially the understanding of how different elements of nature underpin a positive impact, is of great interest. Several studies have explored the health benefits to people who reside in natural environments (Mitchell and Popham, 2008;Hartig et al, 2014;Frumkin et al, 2017); exploring how nature can contribute to restore cognitive functions and facilitate mental recovery (Ulrich et al, 1991;Van den Berg et al, 2010;Tyrväinen et al, 2014) as well as nature's capacity to reduce stress (Ulrich et al, 1991;Sonntag-Öström et al, 2011;Corazon et al, 2019). Further, there are also promising evidences that nature exposure may have an influence in the decrease of inflammatory conditions when inhaling certain volatile natural compounds (Andersen et al, 2021).…”

Equine-Assisted Intervention to Improve Perceived Value of Everyday Occupations and Quality of Life in People with Lifelong Neurological Disorders: A Prospective Controlled Study

“…Riding in nature was perceived as calming and restorative, where the participants' could focus on being here and now. In a recent study, sensory experience in nature promoted mental restoration and perceived improved mental recovery [77,78], which seems to be the case especially when riding in nature.…”

Biomimetic and Biophilic Design of Multifunctional Symbiotic Lichen–Schwarz Metamaterial

“…[ 13,14,20,63 ] It is known that visual biophilia and a sense of connection to nature can help such patients via psychological nature‐based therapy. [ 64,65 ]…”

“…[13,14,20,63] It is known that visual biophilia and a sense of connection to nature can help such patients via psychological nature-based therapy. [64,65] A schematic demonstration is made to compare between the wall without the SLSM acoustic panel (Figure 5a) and the wall with the SLSM panels (Figure 5b). Moreover, the fragile lichen is well-protected by the skeletal P-type TPMS (Figure 5c) and can be successfully function as a strong barrier separating building occupants from the noise sources that might cause physical discomfort.…”