Originally Posted by Mark in Idaho

rydellen is only speaking anecdotally. There has been extensive research since the early 1970's that shows that 100 percent recovery is a myth.

The person mentioned who had no "relapse" of PCS did have PCS. It is why he had concussion symptoms for two weeks. His skiing concussion may have been along a very different axis of force. If that is the case, he will now be very susceptible to a concussion on the axis of force from both prior concussions.

What I mean is this: If his first concussion was due to a hit to the forehead with a front to back motion, then that is the axis of force, front to back. If the skiing accident had a hit from side to side, that is a side to side axis of force. There are also rotational forces that cause concussion.

The direct of the hit does not mean that there is only damage along that direction. Many concussions jar the corpus colusum in the center of the brain. It is much more prone to damage no matter what direction the force is. Then there is the most common injury of diffuse axonal injury. This is a stretching and tearing of the axons, the very thin wires that connect the neurons.

The sports industry tries to say that after a certain amount of time, based on the post concussion symptoms, that return to play is acceptable. This is a lie based on two objective. The coaches want to get the player back on the field and the insurance companies want to avoid liability by repeating the lie that previous concussion was healed. By doing this, they dump the responsibility for future injuries on the player.

When the player tries to perform under stress, especially emotional and mental stress, his PCS symptoms will be more prone to manifesting.

I have been knocked out only once. I have had many concussions since but never had "concussion symptoms" last more than a few hours. I have never felt nauseous, rarely felt dizzy, only felt disoriented once, but I have had the common symptom of a concussion that I get that is a metallic taste in my mouth and the feeling I have been punched in the nose. Some have never noticed the metallic taste or the feeling of being punched in the nose, but it is recognized in some of the literature. I have had a total of 13 concussions, most of which were very mild. I can now get a concussion shaking my head NO.

But... the long term deficits such as memory skills, multi-step processing, multi-tasking, and other cognitive functions can come and go without much to identify as a trigger.

The problem with PCS is the lack of good diagnostic criteria. Just feeling good is not a 100 percent recovery. The mental fatigue factors are not usually evident except under the proper testing. Changes in personality are not notice by the subject. Loss of judgment skills can cloud the ability to recognize ongoing symptoms.

Plus, everybody is different.

Chances are that none of you will ever win the lottery. But somebody always does, even if it takes a few drawings.

If you chance of death from a head injury is 1 in 100,000, (0.00001 percent) it is still 100 percent for the one who died.

That is why the states require you to care insurance to operate a car.

So, after a first or even second concussion, what is the risk of another worth to you.

I had to stop driving at 46 years old. I love to snow ski, hunt, fish and other outdoor things. But now I am entirely dependent on someone driving me to the ski area that I can see from my front porch.

Is another concussion worth the risk?