Potholes, Rail Road Tracks and Bumpy Surfaces
 

Hello All,

I'm just over three years out and I still have issues with potholes, rail road tracks and driving on bumpy surfaces in general. I don't know if I am getting concussions, sub concussions, head aches or what but they are depressing! Is this dangerous that this still happens to me? Is this normal? Is this avoidable? Can this be explained why my head hurts so much when it otherwise shouldn't?

I appreciate any discussion here!

Jose

If your neck, shoulders or upper back seem tight and achy too, look into PT or other treatments for those muscles..
Often those muscles get strained with a head injury.

IronMan57,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

Many of us struggle with bumpy roads. The vertical jarring of the head and mainly the neck can be a struggle. It can help to learn to roll your shoulders forward when the road gets bump or you are going over railroad tracks. The pot holes are usually unexpected so we just have to endure.

With the shoulders forward, the upper back has more ability to absorb the vertical motion.

The worst impact is keeping the shoulders against the seat back. Then, the jarring goes straight to the upper neck and head.

You are not getting concussions and very likely not even a subconcussive force. You are more likely just traumatizing the joint between the top of the neck and the base of the skull. This trauma can trigger all sorts of symptoms. They are not new concussion symptoms.

I agree with Mark's and Jo*mar's answers.

On top of their advice, you might want to consider doing an anti-inflammatory diet for a few months (no grains, no dairy products, no sugar, etc.).

I am not sure what is the science behind this (a possible mechanism is that the diet reduces upper neck inflammation, which is responsible for the relapses), but several of us on this board have tried and have had good results, particularly for the issue of sensitivity that you suffer from. Personally I am still far away from a full recovery but I am now less bothered by these daily bumps, and this improvement coincided with the diet.

You can use the search engine to find more threads on this topic.

I second Vania's answer. I used to be incredibly sensitive to the slightest jolts, but after starting an anti-inflammatory diet I improved significantly. I'm still bothered by bumpy car rides and similar activities, as are many on this forum, but not nearly to the extent that I was.

Actually, the one thing I have the most difficulty with is my own footsteps. I have to be extremely careful not to let my heel strike hard on the ground or I will feel the jolt travel right up to my head. I look like a fool walking around practically on tip-toes wherever the ground is uneven, but that should the least of my concerns.

I think I agree with Mark that jolts like this are not actually damaging the brain, but they are certainly painful and can bring back a lot of symptoms for a few days. I also agree with Mark that there is a considerable anxiety component here, but I am also pretty sure it's not all anxiety. Invariably when a bump does give me anxiety, the anxiety makes things much worse, but I've also had loads of bumps that didn't give me anxiety but did bring back symptoms.

Ironman,

I'll be 4 yr post this April and still have some trouble with rough roads though nothing like even this time last year.

I have found if I stay loose for a bump and flow with it I'm much better off. I think under most circumstances I was bracing for the worst to preserve my head and that stiffening up has been a killer.

I went on a tour excursion in Punta Cana that involves going to hotel to hotel to pick up customers. Each hotel took 10 min private road to get and over 30 speed bumps each ways, at 6 different hotels. It was a nightmare.

I've struggled with this for several years (I'm currently 5 years out).

At some point I even bought one of those inflatable donut pillows for my truck to try and soften the ride as much as possible. In the winter our roads get very bad sometimes and I would even avoid driving for a few days after snow storms.

I think that looking into my neck issues has helped me. First it was an AO chiro, and then last year I noticed that gentle swimming a few days a week does wonders for my neck.

I still try and avoid any unnecessary jolting and get anxious in certain situations, but I think mostly (hopefully) that sensitivity is not longer there.