Have you had previous neuro-psychological testing done?Never less it seemed like that your baseline was clearly higher before that incident.
The fact that you received injuries to your neck and skull base indicates that the fall was not minor.
I had once a set back of a couple of weeks in stepping into a hole in the lawn, sending a 'shock wave' through my spine. It is frightening to see how low my threshold is with those type of 'missteps'.
For how long do you feel more symptomatic after those really minor situations? For me they do not add much or any to my baseline symptoms after about three weeks.
I am somewhat surprised that you still ski, I sold my skies 3 years ago.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark in Idaho
My life changing injury was a step off a curb. I was carrying a large bag of trash held out in front of me in my left hand. My right hand had a wrist splint for a carpal tunnel flare up. I walked across a sidewalk that had a slope to it. The garbage bag blocked my view.
I thought it was a handicap ramp by the slope. I was leaning back with my back arched to counter balance the load in front of me. When I stepped off the curb, I landed with my left knee locked. I injured my hip, pelvis, lower back, left shoulder, neck and base of my skull. It also left me with a "bell rung" feeling. There was no other pain right away. I checked out of my job.
When I tried to put my seatbelt on to drive home, I realized how bad I had injured myself. I reported the injury the next morning. The employer treated the physical injuries but refused to acknowledge the neurological injury, even after a neuro-psychological assessment that showed slowed processing (bottom 10%) and auditory and visual immediate and short term memory in the bottom 5 to 12%.
The doctor said that such a mild fall/step could not have caused a head injury and my Work Comp got denied for the neurological/cognitive component. He denied that there was enough force to cause an injury.
I did the research. A fall of 8 inches onto a hard surface with a one eighth inch deflection (compression of my boot sole and/or skeletal structure) can result in a 62 G impact. If the deflection was one quarter inch, the G force would be 31 G's.
This was concussion number 13 for me. I had one very severe concussion at 10 years old. Three moderate concussions and about nine mild concussions, including the last at age 46.
I still have a persistent problem with the injury at the point where the shoulder is supported by the vertebra along with the post concussion symptoms.
I can get a concussion from turning my head to the side and back quickly and from a ride in the car down a rough road. I have learned to turn my head slowly or from the shoulders. I also know to sit with my back away from the seat back to lessen the impact forces generated by a rough road. I snow ski with a shoulders hunched forward position to lessen the forces transmitted to my head.
With the upper spine curved forward, the back has a very good impact absorbing ability. When it is straight up or worse, arched back, it has very little impact absorbing ability. You can easily see the difference by sitting in a chair with your back arched. There is no vertical movement of the head.
An injury I believe I have but is undiagnosed is some sort of contusion to the left occipital condyle. It frequently get inflamed and stiff.
All of my persistent problems are from a few milliseconds of 30 to 60 G's of vertical force to my head. I would not believe it if I did not live it 24/7.
If it was not for the confirmation of two neuro-psych assessments, I would still be wondering whether this was just an imagined set of symptoms.
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