will this ever go away
 

16 year old boy - first known concussion - strong and healthy
hit hockey may 9/14 constant headache ever since - gets worse with reading, exercise
no loss of consciousness, no rest in the beginning but did not go back to play
worked out through headaches all summer
resting for the last 3 weeks and still has constant headache - taking only two out of four classes in grade 11
only walks with friends, no tv, no video games no gym no sports
takes no medication

it has me as his mom really down as i see it getting to him. his mood is somehow good.

gone to many doctors but no real answers. some say complete rest, some add some exercise.

chiro, physio provides to relief so we stopped going.

no neck pain

will this ever go away? this is really bringing me down as a parent.

The neck injuries that are common to PCS often do not exhibit any pain, maybe just some tenderness behind the ears.

Has he tried icing the back of his head and upper part of his neck ? It usually helps my head aches.

Who told him it was ok to work out through the summer? If he can walk a little every day that would be good, and increase it slowly as long as he feels comfortable. He should be under the supervision of a neurologist who understands concussion, He needs complete rest to recover from the injury and he Doesn't need to be working out. He will recover it's just going to take longer now since he didn't rest over the summer.

He has a dr appointment next week. i will have him check his neck again.

he does not ice the back of his head. headaches are on the top of his head and they are low grade. as long as he doesn't push anything he just lives with the headache. after 4 months it is as though he is just used to the constant pressure on the top of his head.

The position of the head ache has nothing to do with the value of icing. His doctor will not likely find an upper neck injury. They are very subtle. It is a 'try this and see if things improve' concept. Have him try the icing. I have a recipe for crushable ice packs in the Vitamins sticky at the top.

If his head aches are just mental exertion caused, he needs to rest. A very slow return to activity once they have subsided is recommended.

we had differing opinions in the summer. dr said rest, chiro / physio said workout exercise is good. looking back we should have listened to his pediatrician. the concussion clinic never told him to stop they just kept giving him scat tests and applying heat to back. complete waste of time and money. should have listened to the medical doctor. a mistake we are paying the price for now. at the time we heard what we wanted to hear. i feel very guilty about it now.

i will have him try the ice.

he is resting as much as he can while having to live his life too. anytime he feels himself getting worse he comes home from school and lies down. he does go walking at night. says it makes him feel better the fresh fall air. he also walks to and from school (about 15mins) because i work

If you knew the mistakes I made post injury, what your son did would pale in comparison :) The important thing is you realize how important rest is now. Mark in Idaho gives the best suggestions (he is a wealth of knowledge) and I just put In my two cents.
It is worthwhile to pick his brain. Welcome to the board and good luck.

we finally realize rest is best. he stills has the chronic headache but the horrible ones have not been happening for the past two weeks ( i hope i didn't just jinx that). he says he is at a constant one or two on the headache scale. he also says he is never at zero. not even for a moment. he is able to sleep all night every night without meds thankfully. we just wish we knew when if ever a zero headache would happen.

Sleeping all night every night is huge. And a GREAT healer. Many on this board would pay a lot of money for that, including myself :)

I could be wrong, but a constant 1 of 2 out of ten, sounds like a pretty darn good spot to be at, considering what he did all summer.