So, you sustained a concussion. Now what?

What is a concussion?

A concussion is a form of a mild traumatic brain injury that causes the temporary disturbance in cells caused by the acceleration and deceleration of the brain within the skull following a significant blow to the head or elsewhere on the body. Neurons become stretched and may even break, firing at rapid rates which disrupts the communication in the brain. Electrical chaos is manifested. One misconception is that someone must be hit in the head to cause a concussion; however a significant hit to the body may cause a whiplash effect and result in enough force to the brain to cause a concussion. 

Marshall, Cameron. “About Concussion”. Complete Concussion Management Inc, 24, Sept 2018.

A concussion’s standard recovery time is 4-6 weeks. For some, symptoms (as well as recovery) last long after this period and from that point on the concussion is known as post concussion symptoms aka PCS. It can also turn into a TBI.

A concussion is a two part injury. If you have sustained a concussion, you have also sustained whiplash. This is why it is crucial to treat the neck in addition to the brain. Symptoms of a concussion and whiplash are identical. If we rehab the brain we must also treat the neck for optimal recovery. Often, manual therapy to treat the neck goes over looked by health care providers. There is so much focus on the brain that the neck is forgotten. Be sure to ask your healthcare provider about treating the neck. This was overlooked for the first 3 months of my recovery and a crucial piece that was introduced way too late (yet aided tremendously in my recovery). More to come on that in a future blog post. 

It may seem like nothing major at first yet speaking from experience, symptoms may take days, weeks and even months to transpire which is why it is important to handle the injury with care.  If you think you may have sustained a concussion, don’t wait in hopes to sleep off the symptoms. 

Have a headache? 

Feeling dizzy? 

Off balance? 

Blurred or disturbed vision? 

Ringing in the ears? 

Noise and/or light sensitivity? 

Trouble concentrating? 

Trouble articulating thoughts? 

These are some signs that you may have sustained a concussion after a jolt to the head/body.  

Be sure to seek medical care by a trained concussion specialist immediately. Many times a primary care doctor, the ER and even some neurologists do not specialize in concussion and will give you the wrong advice. It is important to connect with a doctor who specializes in concussion.