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Concussion Warning Signs and Symptoms
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A concussion is a traumatic brain injury that occurs when your brain is shaken inside your skull. All it takes is a hard tumble on the basketball court or a blow to your head, neck or body.
That’s right, you don’t necessarily have to hit your head. It can happen when your body jolts suddenly due to a hard tackle or a car accident; the resulting injury may be whiplash and a concussion.
This trauma can potentially damage the blood vessels in your brain or injure its tissue. To minimize the risk of long-term damage, it’s important to learn how to identify and manage a concussion.
The Invisible Injury
A concussion is often referred to as an ‘invisible injury’ because its symptoms aren’t always easy to recognize. Even MRI imaging isn’t perfect at identifying one. But when this kind of brain trauma happens, the effects are all too real.
Contrary to popular belief, concussions don’t only happen if you black out. In fact, nine times out of ten, concussions don’t make you lose consciousness and some only cause a brief interruption in mental alertness.
Athletes: Step back and manage a concussion
Studies have shown that most high school and college athletes don’t report concussions while playing football. They may not realize that a concussion can happen even if you don’t black out.
In the past, athletes in many sports returned to play too soon after a concussion, sometimes even on the same day. But thanks in part to Rowan’s Law, sports and health organizations are starting to take these injuries much more seriously. Trainers, healthcare professionals and athletes themselves are watching more closely for concussions. They are also taking a more conservative approach to rehabilitation and return to play. This is an important change for the health of athletes everywhere.
Here are some points to consider and steps you can take to reduce your risk of long-term effects:
How can I tell if I have a concussion?
Effective concussion management starts with recognizing the signs and symptoms, some of which may show up hours or days after your injury. It’s important for parents, coaches, trainers and athletes to recognize the warning signs and remove the athlete from play if any of them are present.
Check for warning signs of a concussion:
- Difficulty thinking clearly, concentrating or remembering new information
- Headache, blurry vision, queasiness or vomiting, dizziness, balance problems or sensitivity to noise or light
- Irritability, moodiness, sadness or nervousness
- Extreme sleepiness or difficulty falling asleep or remaining asleep
Concussion symptoms can vary widely from person to person. One person might suffer from pain, while another may have depression and trouble sleeping. For a complete list of symptoms, visit Brain Injury Canada.
See a trusted, licensed healthcare professional as soon as possible.
Any athlete with potential concussion warning signs should see a medical doctor or nurse practitioner as quickly as possible for a diagnosis. Remember, there is no simple test for a concussion. You can miss a concussion if you rely only on a five-minute assessment done on the sidelines. (Note: If this incident did not occur during sport, another licensed health care professional, such as a chiropractor, is permitted to assess you and diagnose a concussion.)
Athletes, coaches, parents and healthcare professionals should stay up to date on concussion safety. If you are not comfortable dealing with a concussion yourself, have a plan in place so you know exactly who to ask for help to identify and manage a concussion if someone shows warning signs.
What should I do immediately afterwards to manage a concussion?
If you’ve had a concussion, the first 10 days are crucial. During this time, you’re at the greatest risk for another. Not only that, the risk of a second concussion rises every time you have one. If you can protect yourself in those first few days, you’ll have much better odds of a full recovery.
When can I return to play?
Most people recover from a concussion within a few days to three months. The Zurich Consensus statement on concussion recovery recommends the following five stages of rehabilitation:
- No activity: Focus on recovery. Rest your body and your mind.
- Light aerobic exercise: Get your heart rate up with light activities, such as walking, swimming and stationary cycling, but don’t go past 70 per cent of your maximum heart rate. Your goal is to increase your heart rate without risk of re-injury. Do not do any resistance training yet.
- Sport-specific exercise: Add movement by re-introducing sport-specific movement, like skating or running drills in soccer. Don’t do anything that might put your head at risk of being hit.
- Non-contact training drills: Add more complex training drills to improve your exercise, coordination and working memory (cognitive load). This can include passing drills in football or hockey. You may start resistance training again.
- Full-contact practice: Resume normal training once you attain ‘medical clearance’ to confirm it’s okay. This will build your confidence and skills before returning to play. A medical doctor or nurse practitioner can provide this medical clearance. A chiropractor can also co-manage return to play decisions and sports-specific guidelines.
If you experience recurring symptoms at any stage in your recovery, restart this process and remain inactive until the symptoms stop. Once you complete these five stages, you can return to play but only after a licensed health care professional, who is trained in evaluating and managing concussions, gives you medical clearance to do so.
What role does your healthcare team play?
A medical doctor or nurse practitioner can provide a thorough assessment, and concussion diagnosis and manage your condition. They can also evaluate ‘when’ you can safely return to play and provide medical clearance for you to do so.
The value of an interprofessional care team
In all cases though, it’s valuable to have a team, with various healthcare professionals, working together to help manage your concussion and get you back on the field safely, with an eye on your long-term health.
A chiropractor is often on the sidelines at sporting events, as a trainer or team chiropractor to prevent and address spine, muscle or joint injuries. Chiropractors in Canada are not currently permitted to diagnose a concussion that occurs during sport. However, they have the competencies, including neurological assessment skills, to assess and give you an informed referral to the appropriate healthcare professional for further evaluation/treatment. Your chiropractor will also work with your interprofessional care team to help manage your condition if needed.
Many athletes trust chiropractic care and its role in sports medicine, so they often consult their chiropractor when they first sustain an injury.
At Pickering Village Chiropractic & Massage, chiropractors Dr. John Noble and Dr. Mark Fera can diagnose neck, shoulder or back injuries that commonly occur with a concussion and offer appropriate treatment. They can also help you manage headaches, and back or muscle pain that results from a concussion.
While you’re resting and recovering, these injuries might resolve on their own. If not, they can help you recover and work with your care team to co-manage your return to play. As part of this process, they can evaluate your strength and physical function to help you know when your body is ready to get back in the game.
Some of the best-known strategies for managing a concussion include education, encouragement and a commitment to getting you back to your daily activities as soon as it is safe and appropriate. It takes a committed approach from the right healthcare team, along with your family and friends, to help you avoid or overcome many of a concussion’s negative results.
The chiropractic and massage therapy team at Pickering Village Chiropractic & Massage helps patients build better pathways to overall wellness, as well as relief from neck and back pain and muscle aches. Poor habits and injury can lead to pain that can restrict your ability to work or enjoy your leisure time.
We provide you with more than just chiropractic and massage services, but also the know-how to build better personal wellness habits so that you can be at your best for work or play, every day. Contact our clinic today at 905-427-3202.
With content from the Ontario Chiropractic Association
Concussion: The Invisible Injury
Leave a Comment
A concussion is a traumatic brain injury that occurs when your brain is shaken inside your skull. All it takes is a hard tumble on the basketball court or a blow to your head, neck or body.
That’s right, you don’t necessarily have to hit your head. It can happen when your body jolts suddenly due to a hard tackle or a car accident; the resulting injury may be whiplash and a concussion.
This trauma can potentially damage the blood vessels in your brain or injure its tissue. To minimize the risk of long-term damage, it’s important to learn how to identify and manage a concussion.
The Invisible Injury
A concussion is often referred to as an ‘invisible injury’ because its symptoms aren’t always easy to recognize. Even MRI imaging isn’t perfect at identifying one. But when this kind of brain trauma happens, the effects are all too real.
Contrary to popular belief, concussions don’t only happen if you black out. In fact, nine times out of ten, concussions don’t make you lose consciousness and some only cause a brief interruption in mental alertness.
Athletes: Step back and manage a concussion
Studies have shown that most high school and college athletes don’t report concussions while playing football. They may not realize that a concussion can happen even if you don’t black out.
In the past, athletes in many sports returned to play too soon after a concussion, sometimes even on the same day. But thanks in part to Rowan’s Law, sports and health organizations are starting to take these injuries much more seriously. Trainers, health care professionals and athletes themselves are watching more closely for concussions. They are also taking a more conservative approach to rehabilitation and return to play. This is an important change for the health of athletes everywhere.
Here are some points to consider and steps you can take to reduce your risk of long-term effects:
How can I tell if I have a concussion?
Effective concussion management starts with recognizing the signs and symptoms, some of which may show up hours or days after your injury. It’s important for parents, coaches, trainers and athletes to recognize the warning signs and remove the athlete from play if any of them are present.
Check for warning signs of a concussion:
- Difficulty thinking clearly, concentrating or remembering new information
- Headache, blurry vision, queasiness or vomiting, dizziness, balance problems or sensitivity to noise or light
- Irritability, moodiness, sadness or nervousness
- Extreme sleepiness or difficulty falling asleep or remaining asleep
Concussion symptoms can vary widely from person to person. One person might suffer from pain, while another may have depression and trouble sleeping.
See a trusted, licensed health care professional as soon as possible.
Any athlete with potential concussion warning signs should see a medical doctor or nurse practitioner as quickly as possible for a diagnosis. Remember, there is no simple test for a concussion. You can miss a concussion if you rely only on a five-minute assessment done on the sidelines. (Note: If this incident did not occur during sport, another licensed health care professional, such as a chiropractor, is permitted to assess you and diagnose a concussion.)
Athletes, coaches, parents and health care professionals should stay up to date on concussion safety. If you are not comfortable dealing with a concussion yourself, have a plan in place so you know exactly who to ask for help to identify and manage a concussion if someone shows warning signs.
What should I do immediately afterwards to manage a concussion?
If you’ve had a concussion, the first 10 days are crucial. During this time, you’re at the greatest risk for another. Not only that, the risk of a second concussion rises every time you have one. If you can protect yourself in those first few days, you’ll have much better odds of a full recovery.
When can I return to play?
Most people recover from a concussion within a few days to three months. The Zurich Consensus statement on concussion recovery recommends the following five stages of rehabilitation:
- No activity: Focus on recovery. Rest your body and your mind.
- Light aerobic exercise: Get your heart rate up with light activities, such as walking, swimming and stationary cycling, but don’t go past 70 per cent of your maximum heart rate. Your goal is to increase your heart rate without risk of re-injury. Do not do any resistance training yet.
- Sport-specific exercise: Add movement by re-introducing sport-specific movement, like skating or running drills in soccer. Don’t do anything that might put your head at risk of being hit.
- Non-contact training drills: Add more complex training drills to improve your exercise, coordination and working memory (cognitive load). This can include passing drills in football or hockey. You may start resistance training again.
- Full-contact practice: Resume normal training once you attain ‘medical clearance’ to confirm it’s okay. This will build your confidence and skills before returning to play. A medical doctor or nurse practitioner can provide this medical clearance. A chiropractor can also co-manage return to play decisions and sports-specific guidelines.
If you experience recurring symptoms at any stage in your recovery, restart this process and remain inactive until the symptoms stop. Once you complete these five stages, you can return to play but only after a licensed health care professional, who is trained in evaluating and managing concussions, gives you medical clearance to do so.
What role does your health care team play?
A medical doctor or nurse practitioner can provide a thorough assessment, and concussion diagnosis and manage your condition. They can also evaluate ‘when’ you can safely return to play and provide medical clearance for you to do so.
The value of an interprofessional care team
In all cases though, it’s valuable to have a team, with various health care professionals, working together to help manage your concussion and get you back on the field safely, with an eye on your long-term health.
A chiropractor is often on the sidelines at sporting events, as a trainer or team chiropractor to prevent and address spine, muscle or joint injuries. Chiropractors in Canada are not currently permitted to diagnose a concussion that occurs during sport. However, they have the competencies, including neurological assessment skills, to assess and give you an informed referral to the appropriate health care professional for further evaluation/treatment. Your chiropractor will also work with your interprofessional care team to help manage your condition if needed.
Many athletes trust chiropractic care and its role in sports medicine, so they often consult their chiropractor when they first sustain an injury.
At Pickering Village Chiropractic & Massage, chiropractors Dr. John Noble and Dr. Mark Fera can diagnose neck, shoulder or back injuries that commonly occur with a concussion and offer appropriate treatment. They can also help you manage headaches, and back or muscle pain that results from a concussion.
While you’re resting and recovering, these injuries might resolve on their own. If not, they can help you recover and work with your care team to co-manage your return to play. As part of this process, they can evaluate your strength and physical function to help you know when your body is ready to get back in the game.
Some of the best-known strategies for managing a concussion include education, encouragement and a commitment to getting you back to your daily activities as soon as it is safe and appropriate. It takes a committed approach from the right health care team, along with your family and friends, to help you avoid or overcome many of a concussion’s negative results.
The chiropractic and massage therapy team at Pickering Village Chiropractic & Massage helps patients build better pathways to overall wellness, as well as relief from neck and back pain and muscle aches. Poor habits and injury can lead to pain that can restrict your ability to work or enjoy your leisure time.
We provide you with more than just chiropractic and massage services, but also the know-how to build better personal wellness habits so that you can be at your best for work or play, every day. Contact our clinic today at 905-427-3202.