Conditions
Concussions
Concussions are mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) that occur after sudden acceleration-deceleration mechanisms to the head and neck. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to hit your head to have a concussion. Although concussions have received widespread media attention in the last decade, they continue to be an injury that is often misdiagnosed and misunderstood. With increased awareness they are being recognized more quickly with acute concussions, but returning athletes to play too soon continues to be a big issue. Newer treatment protocols are used to reduce risk of ongoing symptoms after a concussion, and make safe return to play decisions.
If concussion symptoms persistent beyond 3-4 weeks, then this condition is called Post-Concussive Syndrome. Lingering concussion symptoms and dysfunction is treatable the vast majority of the time, but requires specific testing and targeted rehabilitation to resolve areas of dysfunction. Unfortunately when symptoms persistent beyond acute concussion expected healing times, they may not go away with time and rest alone. Despite the attention on acute concussions, chronic concussions continue to be misdiagnosed and undertreated in most healthcare settings. It is easy to misdiagnose and miss because it overlaps so strongly with other issues such as chronic whiplash, neck pain, fatigue, vision, vestibular, and headache disorders. Many people with chronic neck and head issues in particular have underlying post-concussive syndrome that has not been addressed.