Not sure if new concussion or not
 

Hey everyone. I've read the forums off-and-on for a few months but never have posted.

I've had bad luck with head injuries over the last year:

Last October:

I had a bad concussion after being hit to the side the head that left me with headaches and light sensitivity for a little over a month. The part of the head hit was immediately tender to the touch and was painful for 2-3 days aterwards while symptoms continued on for around 4-6 weeks.

This March:

I was having a bad day during a sporting league and quickly sat down into a chair that was seated right next to the (drywall material) wall. I sat down too quickly and too deeply to the point where I caught the back edge of the chair which rocked my head directly into the wall and bounced off of it. I immediately felt pretty woosey and felt nauseous within a few minutes but never did vomit. No light sensitivity this time - it was mainly just that initial nausea.

This July:

Clumsy again. Just a couple of days ago I was doing tricep overhead extension exercises with a dumbbell above my head, going up and down. And on the final set I was rushing myself since I was ready to go home. During the final motion, I accidentally clipped/grazed the side of my head with a 30lb-35lb dumbbell; the dumbbell did not fall or leave my hand - it was just moved at a bad angle and grazed my head from the side. There was no pain or tenderness from the hit. But it does appear I have eye sensitivity again similar to the first head injury and my eyes are watering more easily and/or seem a bit bothered by brighter lights. No nausea, vomit, etc.


This last one, I'm not sure if the symptoms are more psychological or real. Like many of the posts I've read, I've become very anxious and worried at the prospect of head injuries. I had around three concussions as a child and then did not experience any new head injuries until last October in my mid 30s.

Does it sound like a light graze with a 30-35lb dumbbell that was still in my hand could have the force to do damage?

keeponmovin,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

It sounds like you have been sensitized to concussion issues and symptoms since your concussion last October.

You need to start by understanding that tenderness on the exterior of the skull, the skin and nerves, has no bearing on the intensity of a concussion. Many get surface bumps without any concussive impacts.

It appears you have been checking for symptoms, many of which can be triggered by a concussion, sub-concussive impact, bump, or anxiety. Checking for symptoms will almost always indicate some sort of symptoms.

For example. I rarely have PCS headaches any more. But, If I am commenting to a NT post about headaches and check to see if I have a headache, I will usually sense some level of headache. If I ignore it, it just goes away.

I don't think the glance of the barbell was anything but a startle.

Avoid getting caught in the anxiety trap of checking for symptoms. You will lose every time.

Mark,

Thank you for your reply. Your input in others threads has been very helpful and reassuring even though none of are doctors but merely people who have experienced head and/or brain injuries.

The light sensitivity seems to have gone down and all that remains is a mild to lightly-moderate headache after three days which could very well be anxiety and stress. I've had high blood pressure over the last several months which also could be from worry.

There may not be any doctors here but there are plenty of people who will tell you how little help they get from doctors. If you ever find a doctor who gives you a straight answer about your symptoms, please tell us.

Your elevated BP can easily contribute to headaches.

Your attention to detail also indicates a anxiety based thought process (mild to lightly-moderate headache)

When anxiety is high, every sense is hypersensitive. This can make light sensitivity a noticeable issue.

A recent study at University of Michigan studying high school football players used 95Gs as the concussion threshold.

Just some nerve stimulation from the barbell glance can trigger sensitivity.

95G, that is an interesting new study! I'm not much of a science guy but that does seem like a lot of force. Like someone else posted, it seems like I'm always dehydrated while hitting my head but it may not attribute much to a lower of threshold.

I forgot to mention that the day before my girlfriend and I 'butted heads' by accident. We were standing and playing with the cat and when we both went in to kiss the kitty at the same time the top of her skull banged into my temple area. It hurt a bit but might not be of worry. And come to think of it, before last year, I can't really recall ever taking bumps into consideration unless they were obviously traumatic like the three in my childhood where all three events resulted in loss of consciousness. None of the recent bouts resulted in any loss of consciousness.

That is a good observation. If you never were concerned about these bumps before, there is no reason to get concerned now.