Concussive symptoms after slight brain jostling
 

My history with concussion:

in 2003, I was doing a ski race and fell. I didn't lose consciousness but I had a bit of anterograde amnesia (couldn't remember where I placed my skis afterwards). No significant post concussive symptoms.

Fast forward to December-2012. I was doing some sparring in boxing and took some light-medium punches to the head. I felt a bit light-headed, dizzy, cognitively slower. This is followed by difficulty concentrating + headache in the day after. Things would go away after about two days.

People at my boxing gym said that I was just adjusting to "getting hit". So I kept coming back to sparring week after week. Between December 2012 to Feb. 2013, this type of mild concussive symptoms came up about 3 times.

Then in the second week of Feb 2013, I got mild concussive symptoms in an activity I had no issue with before. This activity was holding these kick pads for other boxers. They're strong kicks and would shake my entire body. But I would never get any concussive symptoms until the second week of Feb. 2013.

Third week of Feb. 2013, I was playing non checking ice hockey and got into two medium-large collisions with other players. Again the concussive symptoms came back.

First week of March. After some resting, I went skiing with friends. In my bout of stupidity, I decided to try snowboarding instead not realizing that the frequent falls on my *** as a beginner shook me up a bit. The concussive symptoms were not bad and disappeared after a nap.

Second week of March. I decided to stay the heck away from ice hockey and went back to playing basketball. During basketball, I got bumped a bit when going for a rebound. Boom, the concussive symptoms came back (slight light-headedness).

To summarize, in the recent few months, I have had a string of very mild concussions that would only last an afternoon or a day. But now I'm kind of worried that this would keep recurring and worsen. I have decided to stay away from ANY sort of contact sport. So no soccer, basketball, ice hockey, or for God's sake, NEVER again boxing. I'm only playing tennis & badminton now.

How long do I need to stay away from contact sports for before it is "safe" to go back to them?

Thanks!

I saw a neurologist but she told me absolutely nothing.

I have never been able to return to contact sports. You may have reached the critical mass of impacts that has left your brain very sensitive to impacts. Or, you may have a very unstable upper neck, C-1 to occiput (atlas to base of skull) that causes quick inflamation with every jostle.

You may need to take it easy for a few months or more. Nobody can predict how long it will last.

any good concussion doctors in NYC?
 

Are there any good concussion doctors in NYC?

What about Gotham Orthopedics' Orlando Gonzalez?

Thanks for sharing your story. I've also noted that even slight joltling,bumping etc. can be cause of headaches, dizziness etc...

I've been doing some online research regarding this but the information is almonst non-existant. Almost all the available literature deals with the most acute and immediate symptoms of a concussion but there's nothing available about the long-term outlook of concussion patients.

Hopefully your post will stay alive so more people can share their experiences, treatments etc.

Hi Rob, what was your concussion experience like?
I just I hope I don't have to stay away from non-checking hockey for my whole life. I'm only 28...

Sports related as well, i crashed hard during a road cycling race in 2010. I was unconscious for a while, with headaches for a couple of days. Then all the symptoms "magically" disappeared so i resumed my training. A month later i had to be operated because they discovered blood was pooling inside my skull.

I just want you to know i i know how it feels, man. You love your sports and you wanna go out there and enjoy them but now you also have to carry this huge burden over your shoulders (maybe literally) that stops you from doing it as hard as you want. Maybe you just need to take it slow while your symptoms disappear.

I know you don't need advice from a stranger but maybe contact sports aren't such a good idea for the time being. With concussions, you never know. You said you like hockey, right? I'm sure you've heard all about the concussion epidemic in the NHL. Maybe even Sidney Crosby's concussion woes. It took him over a year for him to get better...

Hi Rob.
Sorry to hear about your cycling accident. How long ago was that?

I'm definitely staying away from all contact sport in the summer. Going back to something safer like tennis. NHL concussion epidemic won't be as bad in non-checking hockey but the risk is definitely still higher than sports like tennis.

Hi everyone,

Bumping up this thread to give an update. The symptoms went away mostly about two weeks ago. I then started a graduated exercise routine: 1. light stationary biking 2. medium stationary biking, light resistance 3. heavy resistance + cardio exercise.
I was fine going through all three phases but there was one occasion in which a rebounded tennis ball hit me in the chin and gave me slight dizziness. I immediately stopped the activity and took the rest of the day off (about last week).
However, two days ago, I was playing some pretty hardcore tennis and all of a sudden, my neck felt like it cracked on a swing and the dizziness came back. I had a music rehearsal the next day which I could not finish because playing in an orchestra aggravated my symptoms (believe me, it is freaking loud).

I guess my main question is, every time I have this type of problem, I always feel like my left upper neck is a bit "off". Some cracking sounds when I bend my neck and a bit of a pain while swallowing. Could it be possible that I have a neck injury that makes me more prone to these mild concussions?

Thanks so much!

Yes, I made that comment after your first post. Boxing also is very rough on your neck. Tennis has so much head movement to follow the ball and follow your stroke that it very likely aggravated your problems.

I have problems from tilting my head back to focus using the bottom lens of my tri-focal glasses.

It does sound like you have a neck injury
 

I had one too, as well as concussions. You may need physical therapy before continuing physical activities.