I've read much about the controversy surrounding post concussion syndrome and second injury. Wife and I had a meeting today with major rehabilitative center. 15 year old daughter (soccer goalkeeper) sustained a major blow to the head by a well-struck soccer ball late in the fall HS season. Daughter has suffered headaches since October. Cognitive and balance tests conducted recently were not encoraging. However, over the past several days, she has displayed amazing recovery. Headaches vastly diminished, reaction and cognitive seems much better. How much should we accept the "she may never play again" verdict? Daughter asks all the time about when she can play again.

hi spud welcome to neurotalk.

my high school senior son is a soccer player. plays select and will be playing in college.

about a month ago he did his usual fancy stuff during a game. yep...the ole ball to the head. knocked him out cold. coach had him continue to play. naturally this happened at a game i had missed.

major concussion. so far all the tests have come back fine. the headaches have stopped.

it is a risky business to let them play again after a concussion. it sounds like your daughters injury was far greater than my son's. he had no problems except the headaches.

imo i would make sure your daughter is just as informed as you as to the risks. this will help if you and your wife decide no more soccer. in the end...her brain function is the most important thing. as much as she loves soccer, it isn't worth permanent injury.

i have had this discussion with my son and his friends. they live for soccer. but they all understand....they love life and the potential they have more.

on a side note...if she ends up not being able to play, she can coach. here in texas they recruit the high school players to coach the kids. it's very rewarding. my son enjoys that. he even teaches private lessons.

I have no real answer to the when can she play.

But I do know that with a post concussion that you really have to
be careful. I would really watch her, make sure that she continues
to do the exercises that she was taught if there were any to help
with the things for balance. ALso if she continues to have issues
to do the things that helped.

I had a concussion in August and have been in Physical therapy
for my neck since then. Just last week I finally hopefully was released.
But being that I'm much older than your daughter, and I'm less physically
prepared for the injury. I will need to be more careful.

I have a tens machine, and will have to watch my neck, and keep using
heat on it. But I will always have to watch things. But my therapist
has told me that I should be able to do anything I want to.

So if your daughter just continues to exercise and stay fit. And works
at doing the things that soccer players can to stay in the shape they
need too, and its also possible that she will need to let someone else
play the goalie though.

That would be the one thing I'd personally worry about if I were the
parent, its technically to me the hardest position after that kind of
injury.

Donna

You need to realize that the next concussion will probably be worse. I have suffered several and I can tell you that I will never put myself in a position where I will risk another concussion. Its just not worth it to me. Every concussion I have had was worse than the previous. I am still feeling the effects of one I got in November. It sounds like your daughter had it pretty bad. She might play and never get another one, but is it worth the risk of permanent brain damage if she suffered another major concussion? Do your research and know the risks. I would say find another hobby, but thats just my opinion. I don't think its worth the risk.

So much conflicting info from so many doctors!!!! Daughter has been on trazadone for about two weeks and it seems to really be working for sleep/recovery. So, we went to the neurologist yesterday afternoon. He said that if the headaches go away and she can return to school full time, he'd clear her to play. WOW! This was after the Elks Rehab people presented their case that she has some lingering cognitive issues. It is interesting because in the cognitive/reactive tests she has done, she scores extremely high in some areas and extremely low in others. Her case has been puzzling to them in that there are many reasons why she should not be suffering from the lingering headaches and, since there was no baseline test scores to work from, she may have always had a "learning disability." (B average student, but always has had to really buckle down to get good grades-it never came easy).

Understand, the neurologist we're seeing is from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and treats ONLY sports head injuries, mostly in youth. They have agreat reputation, best I can tell. He told her yesterday to resume "light training" which really excited my daughter. She participated in all the field training and conditioning. A little headache afterwards, but what an attitude adjuster. That was one of the things the docs said we should hope for, as I guess head injuries tend to leave the recipient with overall attitude issues.

Sorry to ramble, this is just the most unpredictable medical roller coaster ride I've ever ben on. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Hello Curious!
Daughter also plays select (called "premiere" here, all the same) & is with the ODP regional team. You probably understand as well as anyone how important playing is to hr. Thank you so much for the insight. What a crazy injury! She's said before she'd rather have blown up her knee that gotten knocked in the head. BTW, emergency room originally cleared her after the original injury. Hmmm

My son is 5 weeks out from his PCS diagnosis from what a neurosurgeon we went to calls a Grade 3 concussion. He received it wrestling mid February after being dropped on his head. He is 16 and devastated. He is still dizzy and having cognitive issues with reading, memory etc. The symptoms get worse after riding in a car. He does not even feel like sports, so not even a frustration. School has been hard and we are modifying his curriculum now until he improves. He is in all honors AP classed and very good student. This is a serious condition and causing alot of upset to his life. The trainer put him back out after injury because he did not lose conciousness. These discussion communities help because I feel you do not know what to do. He also feels a leg injury etc would have been more appreciated. Good luck with your daughter. We are seeing a great physician out of Concord MA who was also Johnson's physician. He is very interested in sports head injuries.

Nancy F

Sorry to sound harsh (someone had to tell me this, so I'm just passing it along), but don't "modify" his curriculum, put it on hold. This young man has suffered a major injury that even top neurologists admit they don't fully understand. Your boy doesn't feel like doing sports now because he is a different kid now, at least for the time being. These injuries cause all kinds of changes to a person. The first thing you want is to get his brain back to normal.

He's gonna get better, but this one isn't a broken leg or torn acl. Time and rest. God bless and good fortune to you and yours.

Hi All
Thanks for your replies and advise. He really is not in a modified curriculum. He just shows up at class with no expectation for homework, papers or exams. He is improving with more mental stamina, less dizziness, fatigue, headaches and sleep is better with 6mg of Mellatonin at night. His color in his face looks better and he is less strained looking. I have noticed that he is much more emotional now and gets easily agitated with questions. I think he may be becoming frustrated and depressed. You get rid of a few symptoms and bring on others with the rest. "This _____ ". It is hard to watch someone you love go through this and be rational all the time. I would say, most of the time I get it and realize we are in this for the long haul. This term will be scratched and we are hoping by next fall, he can reclaim an existance that gives him pleasure. Hope all you suffererers are getting some relief and hope.
Nancy

Nancy

It sounds like he is doing well with the school expectations then.

I'm glad he is in a school that understands. And I hope things
keep improving. Taking it one day at a time is the best thing.

Donna