Possible new concussion
 

Hello everybody,

I really need advice - I am over the roof right now.

Today I went to McDonalds with my kids. They were playing at the children-area, but I went to get my youngest when I hit my head. It happened because I had to crawl under a plastic tube, but when I was standig up fast I hit my forehead on a big hardened plastic porthole, like the round one on the picture: Gemino+ Porthole Crawl I Platform Loft By HABA, 25987

The plastic was about 0,5 cm thick and yielded a little. It said a noise when my head hit it. It didnt really hurt, and I had no immense pain or something. I didnt got a metallic taste, blurry vision blackout or anything, more like a surprise that I hit my head. The area was a little bit sore for around 30 minutes afterwards but no contusion red spot etc. So, a medium hard hit, but with no pain - if that makes any sense.

I am now extremely worried that this is a new concussion, especially because I drove my car to my parents place afterwards - a 2 hour trip. I felt very tired when driving. But I read that driving after a concussion is very bad.

It is 6 hours ago and I have mild headache, problems looking at screens (feel dizzy), feel tired and it hurts around my eyes.

I would really appreciate any thoughts or facts. Anyone tried anything similar? Around what g-force range would a hit like that constitute? How bad was it that I was driving for 2 hours afterwards?

Best regards to all from a sad Norwegian and thanks for reading:-(

It is the porthole that bows outwards:-(

It does not sound like a concussion. This was an external skin trauma that did not impact your brain.

Plus, driving after a head impact has nothing to do with concussions.

The only reason anybody would say to not drive would be if the concussion was severe and could interfere with the driving task.

An impact that did not have any symptoms will not develop into a concussion.

Relax and try to convince yourself that you are OK.

As always, thanks Mark.

How do you differentiate between immediate concussion symptoms like confusion, dizzyness etc. and the surprise/chok from hitting ones head? I mean, I dont recall confusion etc., but I was also panicking because I new I just hit my head, so maybe I just cant remember because I was panicking?

And is it possible at all to have a concussion without more than very minor pain?

Here in Norway it says everywere not to drive after a hit to the head, but it doesnt say that its beacuse of traffic safety and only apply to very hard hits. I concluded it was because it would make a injury worse so thanks for explaining.

Best regards

The surprise or startle or shock from bumping one's head is not a concussion symptom. It is anxiety. It is no different than most other startles like having to make an emergency stop or evasive turn in the car to avoid an accident. It is a learned response. Before being concussed or sensitized to concussions from watching somebody else get a concussion, you would not have reacted to the bump with anything more than annoyance.

Soldiers who have returned from combat where loud pops were a threat often react to loud sounds as if they are threatening gun shots or explosions. The loud sound could be a car back firing or something being dropped or fireworks. It is not threat at all but the response by the veteran can be as if it is. This is a learned response. In some cases, it is magnified by PTSD.

Researchers and concussion trained doctors know that people who already have a tendency to have anxiety responses will react to non-injury bumps as if they were serious concussions.

Well, I defenitely have som sort of PTSD that ignites when I bump my head.

And I agree, this was not a concussion. I got convinced when I read that a professional boxer maximum punch around 50 G, and that by far the most concussions occur around above 50 G. This bump I experienced was not even close to be similar to a punch from a boxer. Maybe others also can benefit from that analogy.

But I worry that the bump gave me a whiplash, because I made a sudden "wreck" to the right with my neck when I hit the porthole. And before I can tell myself that this is just anxiety and some kind of learned response I have to rule out a whiplash-injury. So any thoughts abouth whether this kind os accident can constitute a new whiplash/neck injury or whether it "only" aggravated my old whiplash injury?

I am very concerned bacause three years ago I got a "real" whiplash in my car, and it took over a year before I could read again! And now my neck and shoulders are tightened up, I have small scale headache and all the other symptoms you probably also know have emerged.

Thanks for reading.

I doubt you had anywhere near the forces required for a whiplash injury. You did not get the whip of whiplash when you bumped your head. Theoretically, this could have aggravated your previous whiplash injury but your tightness could also be nervous/anxiety tension. Maybe you need a good massage to help you relax.

60 G's is the usual minimum for a concussion but many tolerate up to 80 to 100 Gs. The brain can tolerate even more Gs for shorter periods of time. A punch has follow through so the impact covers a longer period. A bump into a stationary object does not so the later has a very short time span.

Take an OTC pain med and relax. You will do better when you can let go of your anxiety and tension.

Hi there,

How are you doing now?

I also experience these situations where I cannot tell if its a concussion or anxiety. I have had 4 -5 real concussions since Jan 2009 and its been quite some struggle. Usually it has been gone after 2 to maybe 3 months, but the last one I got in April lasted until now. A real struggle.

Jonas2244,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. The Norwegian only drops by once in a while.

What symptoms are you still experiencing? What treatments, if any, have you had?

Thanks,

What I can recommen for ppl in same situation with problems getting out of the PCS is a few points:

- Get the status of your inner ear checked by a physiotherapist. BPPV can often be the problem and cause a lot of dizzyness/vertiogo and nasuea. A lot of exercises are available and can get treated over a few weeks. Often causing missinterpetations of what is a cocnsussion and what is just the imbalance in your ear.
- Get you eyes checkd for Nystagmus and get some visual exercises done if you have nystagmus on your eyes
- Get light exercise like jogging in nature a few times a week (or just outside your appartment in a park). It is the best way to get create balance in your nervous system and get some mental air too. Never in the history of makind has a human gotten a concussion from having the brain move up and down in the skull by moving the legs quickly forward.


I have had and done all of the above. I had several concussions over the past 8 years. The first 3 ones went by quick and didnt cause me much anxiety afterwards. But when I got the 4th, I started getting anxiety and OCD with head trauma realted issues.

Like everyone else reflecting on this problem, I am aware that I dont get concussions from moving my head quick from side to side, but still get this intense feeling of anxiety from time to time. And being aware is always a sign of light in the tunnel.