Why did my second concussion slow my recovery?
 

I got my first concussion at 27 October 2014, as you can see from my signature.

A week later, in 6 November 2014 I got another concussion from a basketball. A basketball just fell on my head from about 5-6 meters height. I wasn't even playing, I just stood at the side and it hit my head when it fell down from a wall.

The 2-3 days before the second concussion I felt like I started healing, but the concussion with the basketball ruined all of it and returned my symptoms fully.

I feel like it has slowed my recfovery significantly since I started feeling a little bit better a few days after my concussion, but then that basketball fell on my head and I feel like it impacted my recovery.

Why did it slow my recovery? Does it count as a mild concussion or a sub-concussive impact? (The basketball wasn't thrown directly at me, it just fell on my head after hitting a wall).

Thanks,
-ProAgonist

Healing is always a long term affair. There is not way to judge recovery day by day. I consider two weeks as a reasonable period to gauge improvement. Any improvement that has been consistent over 2 weeks can be considered part of recovery. A couple of good days does not indicate recovery. It just indicated you have done something in the past few days that is good for recovery. Recovery happens when we learn how to extend a few good days into a few weeks of good days. It is not the best days that indicate recovery. It is the worst days. If the worst days are not as bad, that shows improvement.

What impact the falling basketball has on your condition is not possible to understand. If it caused a return of symptoms, then it had a negative effect. If it caused an increase in anxiety, that anxiety can cause a delay in recovery.

The 'I want to heal but some day I will start working toward that end' attitude is not helpful. It helps to take any steps forward that we can, even it they are tiny steps and not well understood.