Shooting a basketball, catching a bouncing ball off a wall and reading an eye chart while shaking his head back and forth are among the exercises Dale Earnhardt Jr. performs regularly as he continues rehabbing from a concussion sustained nine weeks ago.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. shares videos of concussion recovery program on Instagram
Earnhardt is rehabbing from his third concussion in four years.
Josh Hedges/Getty Images
Earnhardt demonstrated these tasks in a series of videos posted on his Instagram feed Thursday. One video showed Earnhardt walking around a dark room illuminated by a disco ball. Another featured NASCAR’s most popular driver repeatedly stepping on and off a small platform.
“Simple stuff, but it’s really helping,” Earnhardt wrote on one accompanying video.
Doctors believe Earnhardt suffered a concussion when he crashed during the June 12 Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway. Initially he had no obvious symptoms indicating he had sustained his third concussion in four years, believing he was experiencing allergies or a sinus infection while continuing to compete in three subsequent races.
But as his symptoms persisted, Earnhardt sought medical consultation where he was then advised not to race. He has since missed five straight races, and there is no timetable on when he may return. Hendrick Motorsports named Jeff Gordon to fill in during Earnhardt’s absence.
Earnhardt has provided frequent updates on his health while sidelined, either appearing near-weekly on The Dale Jr. Download podcast or via messages on social media. During one such update on Aug. 1, Earnhardt admitted the slow recovery process is frustrating and that he wakes up every morning hoping he’s better, only for the symptoms to remain present.
“That drives you absolutely crazy,” Earnhardt said. “You wake up, you open your eyes, you sit up, you walk to bathroom and you know immediately that nothing is different, nothing is better, nothing is worse.”
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