Can a parental smack to the back of the head cause a concussion?
 

Hi, I was wondering if a moderately hard smack to the back of the head can cause any form of concussion. I was asking this because the day I was smacked on the back of the head, during the moment of the smack, for a brief second I smelled some strange smell, and it went away instantly. After this I got out of the car later and my arms felt weak and my tongue was tingling. My legs were also kind of weak and I was also lightheaded when I moved my head. I was wondering if these symptoms can be caused by anxiety and ocd, because I have a bad wase of odd, and I can't stop donating on things like this. I also forgot to mention a few hours later, I would get these headaches that come and go real quickly. I wouldn't even call it a headache, it's just a pain for a short period of time, like 1 second, then goes away. If this seems like a lot of symptoms, that's because I hyper focus on anything and I take note of everything I experience. So I don't know if this is just stress, or if it is a small form of mtbi. I obsess over my head, and this smack was a huge deal for me, because things such as moving my head to quickly even stresses me out and makes me worry. So I definitely didn't take this smack on the back of my head lightly. My dad was just mad that I forgot to take my wallet to work and backhanded me. But if this is enough to get a concussion, then I guess I should just bubble wrap my head to protect the fragile brain... that was a joke, btw. Thank you for your time.

Cavencruiser,

First, your high level of anxiety can cause all of these symptoms. A backhand would have to be extremely hard to cause a concussion and would likely cause seriously bruised knuckles or even broken fingers.

Second, you are correct to not take a smack to the head lightly from a health point. Nobody should be disciplined with a smack to the head, no matter how light. I suggest you establish an 'off limits' contact agreement with your father. The head and neck and spine are OFF LIMITS. A warning of a promise to contact an authority if it happens again would be worth considering. You know your father but you also need to protect yourself.

This smack sounds like it was to the upper neck and cervical spine area. That is a very dangerous area full of arteries and nerves.

You should seek help with your anxiety and overly focused attention to detail, especially health issues. That can make for a miserable life. Learning to let go and accept the ups and downs and focus on the bigger picture when possible will be beneficial to your future.

But what if I had a concussion a year before, would that make it possible for me to get a concussion from a simple slap like that? And why did I experience that strange smell when getting hit, and it vanished in less than a second?

But also, I should add in here that after that smack I was able to balance on a soccer ball. Like standing directly on top of it, which people witch concussions surely can't do, right? I was always able to do this, so don't think that the smack to my head gabe me some superpowers or something.

No, the prior concussion would not leave you sensitive to such a level. But, a prior concussion could leave you will a very sensitive upper neck. Many concussion symptoms are due to upper neck injuries, not brain injuries. I suggest you spend some time icing your neck and being careful to sleep and rest with good head and neck posture (straight, not bent over). The Vitamins sticky at the top of the index page first post has a recipe for making crushable ice packs.

A slap can rarely cause a concussion, just not enough power/force happens..
Hopefully your dad was not trying to injure you at all.:eek:

I added a new sticky thread recently that might be helpful for you to look at.
https://www.neurotalk.org/traumatic-...-disorder.html

So could a neck problem cause the muscle fatigue mentioned above?

Anxiety can cause all of your symptoms. It appears you may be overdoing looking for and assessing symptoms. OCD can cause you to be this way.

You would be better off to not try to identify a causation. It is not possible to accurately do that. It will just drive you to exhaustion trying to do it. Some even get stuck trying to replicate events/impacts to see if it causes the symptom.

The important thing is to prevent a repeat performance. Your father should never be allowed to smack you again. Your friends should not either.

So, did you get a concussion a year ago? What happened and what were your symptoms? How long did they last?

I feel like it is very likely to have a concussion after that smack to the back of the head because of the fact that I started to feel "symptoms" as soon as I stepped out of the vehicle, these symptoms include: weakness or lack of coordination in my arms and legs, lightheadedness, anxiety, and hard to focus. What I don't understand is that smell that occurs when you get smacked in the head, that lasts only the second you are smacked, and vanishes afterwords. Any ideas on this?

Cavencruiser,

As I said, you should not try to connect every dot. It is a losing game.

The smell is sometimes a metallic/iron smell or taste which is also the smell of blood. A bit of mucus blood that never leaves your nose could be the smell. Nobody knows. Some doctors will deny you smell anything. The weakness is more likely a spinal cord momentary trauma.

But, nobody can say for sure. It is all conjecture.

I just wanted to chime in because I experienced very similar symptoms after getting accidentially elbowed in the back of the head and I also have lots of anxiety. I'm still unsure whether I recieved a true concussion or whether all of my symptoms were due to anxiety, however, I dont think the fact that the symptoms occurred soon after the accident rules out anxiety. Anxiety can come on fast with its symptoms. Think of people receiving unexpected or shocking news and needing to sit down, it's an extremely quick turn around time.

Also, is getting hit in the back of the head the same thing as walking into a pole or metal beam? Because I don't see why they would be any different, and if anything I would think a smack to the back of the head is worse than walking into a metal pole, because there is far more force and speed put into the hand making collision with the back of your head. I think that it could be highly likely to get a concussion from a slap, because your brain probably shakes around uncontrollably in your head after you get smacked.

A metal object does not distort and absorb the deceleration of the head. A hand will flex and distort reducing the deceleration. Acceleration or deceleration is change of speed over time. A metal object makes the impact time very short so the deceleration value is high. An impact of a hand has a longer duration of impact plus the head moves in reaction to the impact force spreading the impact duration. The mass of the hand is also less.

A head is 8 to 11 pounds into a fixed metal object. A hand is 1 to 2 pounds that flex and distort as it hits.

But, a hit to the upper neck can cause trauma to the upper neck with much less force than needed for a concussion. 5 Gs can cause whiplash. 60 to 85 Gs are needed for a concussion.

What does it matter if you received a concussion or an upper neck injury, sometimes called a cervical or brain stem concussion. You deal with the symptoms, not the mechanism of injury.

Yes, the smack messed you up. You will recover but still be at risk of your father doing it again.

Why is it that when I walk around, I feel better, but then when I sit down, the symptoms get worse? Also it has been a week, and still no improvement

I would like to add, that after I woke up this morning, all of my covers on top of me felt far more heavy then they are supposed to, and also, my legs felt so weak, that I couldn't even hold them up longer for a second. Also, as im writing this, i am progressively getting slower and slower to type which is very abnormal for someone like me. I always type pretty fast, but typing all of this is such a struggle. Do any of you guys have a clue to why this is? Because it would really help me out to find out what is going on. I dont really feel like going to the doctors because, at the moment, it doesn't feel really urgent, but if it continues to get worse, I may just have to go to the doctors.

Get to a Dr. asap.....never play games with your health

Very true , it could be something totally separate and unrelated.

I can't go to the doctor because my mom thinks I'm making it up with my ocd

Oh yeah, I got a concussion a year ago. The symptoms lasted for a year because I didn't do anything to treat it. I went to every doctor, and even a concussion specialist, and they all said i didn't have a concussion. I then also had an MRI and that came out saying I have had no concussions ever before. Even at this point I still didn't believe it, and I self diagnosed myself with a concussion. That's why my mom won't take me

What is your age?

I'm 18, I was 17 last year, and I can't drive yet because I didn't get my permit

I'm still weak in the arms, and more weak in my left arm then my right, and it has officially been 2 weeks later. I forgot to include at the time this slap to the back of the head, my dad was driving backwards very slowly and slapped the back of my head. After this smack, I suddenly experienced weakness in my arms and legs and felt dizzy when I moved my head. When I was working I heard a brief low quiet ring in my right ear, which went away in a second or two. After that am hour later, my head started to hurt a little on the left front side for around a minute and went away. As of recently, I have been keep waking up 3:30 in the morning and have been not able to go back to sleep for an hour and a half. During this time, I would experience extreme anxiety and a dreaded feel of doom. Also, a few days back at my work, my boss called me in the office to go over some things, and I tried to listen to him, but everything felt so foggy and my stomach started gurgling and I was sweating in the rear. I was wondering if all of this is more likely to still be due to stress or is it more likely a concussion.

I would also like to add in there that is it possible for these symptoms to come from whiplash? Also, I forgot to add that as of last night, I woke up at 3:00 and I couldn't feel my toe, it went away in a minute or two, but is this even related?

What you have described could well be acute anxiety attacks.

One good way of dealing with them is to use a deep breathing exercise.

For example, breathe in deeply, count to 10, breathe out deeply, breathe in deeply, count to 10, breathe out deeply, .....

Doing a deep breathing exercise for 10 minutes or so is often highly effective in dealing with an acute anxiety attack.

But the thing is, acute anxiety doesn't last longer then 2 weeks and is also associated with rapid heartbeats so fast that it feels like a heart attack.

Hello Cavencruiser
Other members have tried to offer you support and helpful info, but at this point it would really be best if you please consult your own healthcare professionals about the symptoms you are experiencing, and that are causing you this continuous level of concern.

I am still experiencing all the symptoms, plus more, like slightly blurred vision and muscle twitches. I don't know what's going on, the doctor said I'm fine, but it seems that my symptoms will just never go away

Also, thanks for all the support. I appreciate it, but I'd like to add In that my eyesight slight blurriness problem reduces if I close my eyes and think of nothing for 10 seconds, but then when I try to read something up close and then look at something far, it appears blurry again. Also my leg felt like it had a slight burning sensation in it yesterday and when I was walking and looking at my phone, I moved my head upwards to continue walking, but when I did, I felt like my foot sank through the ground for a brief moment. And I also have problems finding the right words to use in sentences now sometimes.

By and large, any abnormal skin sensation you are feeling, like burning, is largely the result of the peripheral nervous symptom, so I concussion wouldn't cause it.

Also, the blurry vision and trouble thinking are both problems I experienced, but in my case I think it was probably all anxiety causing the issues, and I think that that's probably true for you too.

Sorry to bring this thread up again, but I still have had no improvement. And my mood constantly swings from normal, to a complete worry wart. I also keep waking up at night and also not able to stay asleep. My knee also feels a timed tingling sensation every 30 seconds. The feeling comes for about 5 seconds, then goes away, but then comes back again 30 seconds later. I was also in a panic mode again today, because I went to go make my lunch, and suddenly I have fell into a total panic attack. This is because as I went to go make my lunch, my arms were more unresponsive and I became very dizzy, and all of the things I had to do completely overwhelmed me, which never happened before. Like I said, I never had panic attacks like this before the smack, only if I was about to throw up. And when I was done eating I went to go floss my teeth, and then again, I noticed as I went to go pick something out of my tooth, that my arms coordination was off, and was harder to control, after this I started to get worried again, so I took in deep breaths. But little did I know, that made it even worse! I got even dizzier then before and it seemed like this wasn't helping so I stopped. It then look at my eyes in the mirror, and noticed that my pupils were slightly dilated, and I went to go to turn on the light, and when I did, my eyes did not respond to the light. This was still during one of those panic things btw, if that even matters. Even if I'm not thinking of my head, the symptoms still appear if I get up out of bed, or look at my phone then far away, I would feel lightheaded, or out of it. My muscles also twitch occasionally on my left side of my body, and my eyes flicker left to right occasionally for a split second when I am trying to look at something or am trying to focus or read. I also noticed a lot more floaters when I go outside as well, and strangely I feel quite ok outside, but when I go in the dark, I become lightheaded again. My stomach also growls a lot more than usual, and my vision is slightly worse. I think that there is no hope for me. My brain could possibly be concussed, and I could be experiencing real symptoms. Besides, my dad did, slap the back of my head after all, and I have read that put brains have the consistency of jello, so more than likely my brain probably jiggled around a bit and hit the wall of my skull. That is probably why I smelled that iron smell for a brief second at the time. I also want to add In there that I ran home from work yesterday, and while stopping to calm down, the world felt fake, and my vision started darkening for a second or two. Thank you again for your time.

Have you tried the deep breathing exercises that I suggested above for your anxiety/panic attacks?

As far as your sleeping problems are concerned you could try progressive muscle relaxation. I use it as part of sleep hygiene (applying good habits in preparation for sleeping well).

The idea behind progressive muscle relaxation is to tense each set of muscles in your body in turn for a minute or so and then let them relax. I start with the muscles in my feet, then calves, thighs, buttocks, arms, hands, shoulders, etc.

In addition you could see a clinical psychologist who has experience of working with clients who have problems with anxiety or panic attacks. Learning CBT methods is often highly effective for such people.

Bumping-- take a second look at this link information..

I think it's safe to say this is enough proof to show that I could have gotten a concussion from a slap to the head, based on this info across numerous sites: (The number of concussions you’ve had. Because the brain is more vulnerable to injury after sustaining a concussion, it may take significantly less force to cause a future concussion. Also, future concussions may result in more severe and longer-lasting symptoms)
How Many Concussions Are Too Many?

This gif also seems to prove my theory as well. If this is how fragile the brain is in the head, then why don't we get a video on from every jerk to the head we make? Many sites seem to site that the brain is as delegate ad a bowl of jello, and this is coming from the professional doctors too. This is probably wjat happened to my brain dyring the slap. https://media.giphy.com/media/NhXhI7kHCwxRC/giphy.gif

Have you sought advice from a health professional about your possible TBI/PCS?

I am not sure that a cartoon GIF is an adequate substitute for this.