First concussion questions
 

Last Saturday 6/8/2013 I received a concussion. I had an object fall on m head at work. It hit an inch to the right of the bone on the back of the head. I had problems processing thoughts had some pain and dizziness. I went to the ER. They did a CT scan and gave me some pain medication. The next couple days symptoms persisted and at times got worse. I went bacfour days later and had another CT scan and they told me I had PCS. It's. Been a week and two days today. I went to a chiropractor today who also does Active Release Technique and he did some things like traction on my neck and worked the muscles. It didn't. Seem to help. Right now my symptoms are a bunch of pressure in the head and behind the eyes. Some neck stiffness as well. I was wondering if anyone else has had problems like this or if going to a chiro will help or hurt. Hes worked with a bunch of athletes from the local universities with concussion. How long will PCS last. Wondering if anyone has insight to my questions. I'm a person with anxiety so that's why I'm so inquisitive about things. Plus Id just like to learn from someone with more knowledge with this.

masond,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. Sorry to hear of your injury.

You are very early in your recovery. Your symptoms are very common and to be expected.

Absent more serious symptoms, the CT Scan is not needed and a risk of unneeded radiation. BTW, You don't have PCS yet. You have a concussion. Give it 4 or 5 more weeks before you let someone call it PCS.

Most concussions recover spontaneously in the first 6 weeks.

The chiro can help but the twist the head and pop the neck is usually to aggressive. Active Release Technique is designed for older scarred injuries. But, the massage and tissue manipulation can still be helpful. Neck muscle spasms can cause head aches and other PCS symptoms to be aggravated.

It sounds more like you have less of a concussion injury and more of a head and neck injury. The head ache behind the eyes can be from the upper neck injury. If the pain behind your eyes gets worse from reading, watching TV and other visually stimulating tasks, that can be concussion related.

You should be focusing on taking care of your neck. This means good neck posture when resting and sleeping. If you need to turn your head from side to side, turn at your shoulders first. Ice your upper neck frequently.

My recipe for a flexible/crushable ice pack is simple. One part rubbing alcohol with three parts water in a zip lock baggies. Freeze them, three is good, so you can alternate them and always have a frozen one. Ice frequently for 15 minutes on and 30 minutes off and repeat. If you get any stiffness of head ache, get the ice pack out. The upper neck easily gets inflamed cause symptoms. This should make a difference.

Keep us posted.

My best to you.

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate it. Watching television causes headaches for me as does riding in a car or driving. It's a headache behind the eyes and in the forehead it feels. I also have the feeling of lots of pressure I'm my head. How long does all the last. I'm. Sure everyone is different so that's probably a dumb question. Nothing seems to help. Though when I wake up from sle
ep I feel better than any other time.

How long it lasts usually depends on what you are doing to help with healing. Are you icing your neck ? Are you avoiding bad foods ? Are you avoiding triggers ?

Most of the fixes are patient directed. You need to become a full time participant in your recovery.

When you ride/drive in the car, try to sit with your back off the back of the seat with your shoulders forward. This allows your spine to absorb the shock and vibrations from the road.

I have to do this. I also need to not look side to side quickly or repeatedly. When I am riding, I need to not focus or look at things that are close that go by. It is better to focus on distant objects.