Concussive or Subconcussive Impact - Please Respond
 

Hi everyone!

I was sitting in my room on Tuesday night, leaned forward to take off my shoes while sitting on the side of my bed, and my head made contact with the frame of the metal desk chair I have. Definitely felt it, cussed a bit because it hurt enough to, but no bump or bruise.

Probably about 5-10 seconds after the hit, I got a moderate throbbing headache. The headache has been on and off since - invariably present when I wake up, and it comes/goes throughout other parts of the day. I didn't have any immediate symptoms of nausea, "dazed," dizziness, vomiting, or problems with balance.

In addition to the variably persistent headaches, I've had some sensitivity to noise/light, slowed thinking, short-term memory issues, and acting weird (put the avocado meant for my lunch in my oatmeal bowl this morning).

Wondering whether or not this could be a concussive impact? This feels somewhat analogous to getting a concussion from hitting one's head on a door frame or car trunk.

Thank you for any thoughts you might have, and any time you are willing to give.

Sincerely,
Squash

Why does it matter to know if it was a concussive impact, a sub-concussive impact, or just a head bump? Yes, there are all three types of impacts.

I was working on installing WiFi equipment in my garage and repeatedly bumped my head into the end of the garage door track. I have a welt and laceration. I never considered these bumps to be anything more than annoying.

Your headache was likely due to a rise in blood pressure. that is why it throbbed. You got angry, anxious, annoyed, or any combination. This spiked your BP.


Analyzing these head contacts DOES NOT MATTER.

In fact, analyzing these head contacts is not good. HITS HAPPEN. Check for blood and move on.

There is nothing you can do to change the fact that you made a head contact. There is nothing you can do to treat that head contact unless you get a goose egg or blood. Ice can help the goose egg.

Analyzing these head contacts only FEEDS ANXIETY.

Hey Mark,

Thank you for the reply!

I know I should not feed the anxiety. But, other head bumps I've had occurred over much wider spaces - this was concentrated on a 1x1 inch region of the metal chair's frame. With the impact being less spread out, with my head moving probably 24ish inches downward, it feels like that could have generated enough of a force to actually cause a concussion with my head making contact on such a small, hard surface.

I guess I asked the question about whether or not it was concussive vs. subconcussive to see whether or not it's possible to tell the difference between the two.

Thank you again your your time and insight, Mark.

Sincerely,
Squash

The size of the impact area means nothing unless the force was strong enough to fracture you skull. G force is G force, no matter what the size of the impact area.

Think of it this way...
There is a big difference with a head getting purposely & forcefully smashed into something hard, compared to an accidental bump..
just not enough power or speed.

Mark and Jo*mar,

Thank you for your responses. The difference in force applied to purposeful vs. accidental head contacts makes sense. That is a helpful way of thinking about it, and I'll try to incorporate that into my thought-changing strategies when these bumps happen.

I am just having a hard time figuring out why I got a headache 5-10 seconds after hitting my head on the metal frame of my chair, and why that headache has been on/off since. I didn't get any immediate symptoms - no dizziness, no dazed/confused feeling, no visual disturbances, no balance problems, no nausea, no vomiting. I know those things tend to happen as indicators of a concussion, even if they're only present for a few seconds.

Maybe I just don't fully respect the power of anxiety.

Sincerely,
Squash

An upper neck trauma only required 4 or 5 Gs. A concussion required 60 to 90 Gs. Both cause headaches. Straining neck muscles and ligaments can cause headaches.

Ice your upper neck on and off for a few days.