[penguinsfan7]

So, I got my first documented concussion March 26, 2011 during my lacrosse game. I didn't lose consciousness and felt fine after the hit. Later that day, I started feeling not "myself". I felt fatigued, foggy and kind of out of it. That monday the trainer at my school referred me to a concussion doctor and he confirmed it was a "mild" concussion. Well, two weeks went by and I started to feel pretty good, although i will admit now that i was not 100%. I would say i was at like 85%.

Anyway, when I came back for my first game three weeks later. I got hit kinda hard, but I felt fine and kept playing. Later that day, i started feeling tired, got a migraine, and felt nauseous. I went back to the same doctor and he told me that he thinks I re concussed myself. He told me that my season was over (which I was upset about) and told me to take it easy. And that is exactly what I did. My life revolves around weightlifting and I do it everyday. I had to stay away from the weight room for two months, wich mentally took its toll on me. Well, June came around and I started feeling pretty good. The headaches were very mild, the fatigue was wearing off and I was starting to feel myself again. I saw the doctor one more time and he told me to gradually get back into the swing of things, but not too quick! And low and behold, I was jackass and didn't listen to him. The day after he told me that i went to the weight room and went hard as hell. I felt fine, but I still was not 100%, but I was sayign to myself "the hell with it".

Since then, I have bumped my head a few times, taken some falls without hitting my head, not hard at all, just a regular old bump on something, I have done dives off diving boards and it seems my head isn't feeling "worse" just not better.

9 months later, here I am. I have mild headaches every day, I get lightheaded all the time, my vision is kinda foggy, sometimes my ears feel like I am on an airplane and feel like I want to commit suicide thats how much I can't stand living like this. My short term memory has gotten a little worse, concentration has gotten a little worse. Last week I went back to that doctor and he told me that I HAVE to stop the weightlifting for a while and this time I listened. he also prescribed me amantidine for the fogginess and it kinda works. The only physical activity I am doing is bodylastics bands in my basement. I start vestibular therapy next week and I hope it helps.

I have also had an MRI and it was negative

Another thing that I have been suffering from my whole life is hypochondria. I have really bad anxiety and the concussion has made it worse.

Getting back to the weighlifting....I have stayed away from the weight room for 4 weeks. I have started to do resistance bands/bodylastics in my basement and I feel on and off when I do it. Some days I feel good doing it, other days I feel not so hot. It is a very inconsistent workout schedule. I am very self conscious about my muscle and body and stuff because I used to be very lanky and stuff and I gained a lot of muscle and now I feel like I am starting to lose it a little. What are some good tips for maintaining muscle with a workout routine that is inconsistent as this.

[ConcussedJ]

As someone who was an athlete and pretty ripped before my concussion, my advice to you is that maintaining muscle should be dead last on your priority list. Focus on getting better. Exercise when you can. Don't overdo it.

[Mark in Idaho]

I was lanky until my PCS. Since then, I have developed a symptom called 'postural rigidity'. It is when the muscles of the torso tend to spasm or be held tight. I have added about 10 pounds of muscles to my shoulders and back from this muscle tension. I went from a 36 chest to a 40+ chest.

If you want to maintain good muscle tone, you can do it sitting in a chair. Work through the various muscle groups tensing them, holding them for a ten seconds then release and repeat. You do not need to be getting a cardio work-out to keep your muscle tone. Regaining your cardio fitness will be quite easy when you have recovered enough for cardio workouts.

I was a national caliber distance runner during high school. I broke a foot requiring a cast. Later, I tore my medial meniscus requiring an even longer rehab. I could recover endurance easily because my body already had the long term conditioning.

Some simple efforts should help you maintain your muscle tone. Delaying your recovery will have far more negative impact on your life than needing to recover your cardio fitness.

I hope this helps.

My best to you.

[TooStressed]

I didn't listen to the doctor initially either. I was working out with a personal trainer at the gym prior to my concussion. Doing weights and heavy cardio-centric body weight training. The doctor told me to take a few weeks off of training after it happened but I only took one week as I was starting to feel like my self again very quickly. Biggest mistake of my life! Went back to it too soon, harder than ever. That's when my symptoms flared up for the worse. I don't think I would have even gotten PCS if I had just listened to him and rested. Only if time travel were possible(sigh).

A few weeks ago I got anxious and I tried doing light cardio on an recumbant bike and very easy yoga. Started to get a little better after a couple of weeks into it. Then for some stupid reason got bold again and threw on my Power 90 DVD to try some basic weight training. Not a good idea. Doing shoulder presses with light 20 lbs. did me in as a killer headache hit me instantly. I stopped immediately and I felt like I was back to Day 1 of PCS all over again.

Now, I've stopped even with the light cardio and my only exercise is short walks. It sucks. Oh well, I guess I can't take my muscles with me to heaven anyways.

[penguinsfan7]

Originally Posted by Drifting

I didn't listen to the doctor initially either. I was working out with a personal trainer at the gym prior to my concussion. Doing weights and heavy cardio-centric body weight training. The doctor told me to take a few weeks off of training after it happened but I only took one week as I was starting to feel like my self again very quickly. Biggest mistake of my life! Went back to it too soon, harder than ever. That's when my symptoms flared up for the worse. I don't think I would have even gotten PCS if I had just listened to him and rested. Only if time travel were possible(sigh).

A few weeks ago I got anxious and I tried doing light cardio on an recumbant bike and very easy yoga. Started to get a little better after a couple of weeks into it. Then for some stupid reason got bold again and threw on my Power 90 DVD to try some basic weight training. Not a good idea. Doing shoulder presses with light 20 lbs. did me in as a killer headache hit me instantly. I stopped immediately and I felt like I was back to Day 1 of PCS all over again.

Now, I've stopped even with the light cardio and my only exercise is short walks. It sucks. Oh well, I guess I can't take my muscles with me to heaven anyways.

Me and you are like clones! I did exactly what you did. My doc said to slowly get back into the weightlifting. Slow to me meant on monday do reallylight weight then on wednesday max out everything! Stupidest decision I have ever made and I am paying the price for it now. However I have turned a new leaf and am being positive towards my recovery. I just started vestibular and occupational therapy and I can't wait for the outcome.

[Mark in Idaho]

Pfan,

Remember that improvement comes slowly, even very slowly for some people.

Just because you may see an improvement in one symptom or even a few symptoms does not mean you have achieved recovery is all areas. Take it slow.

[bh_pcs]

..having been there myself, the first couple of months after my concussion, I did nothing. In that time of doing nothing, I made a mental plan of how I was going to get back into shape and get my cycling form back.

I'm an amateur cyclist in CAT4. Last year, I had ridden many many hours on the bike to perform well and to keep in tip-top shape. (Daily two hour rides with longer rides in the weekend up to 7 hours. Lots of races too.)

I started by doing nothing but stretches and went into physical therapy since I also had a left leg issue (where I also got hit). Doing yoga-type stretches was the basic foundation in moving better. Get a someone to help you out to doing low impact exercises first. That should get your system going and retrain your brain to physical activity.

Once you've established a foundation and you feel like you're ready to some weights, do very limited weights. I would suggest starting at 5% of your max pre-injury, if not, lower than that. One thing you do not want to do is overtax your brain. What you WANT to do is retrain your brain to physical exertion at a steady, slow pace.

Then incrementally increase your activity/effort every two weeks.

It's taken me more than 4 months to back to a base for my cycling training. Now that I've done the ground work, I'm able to take it to the next level, but even that is uncertain because I'm not sure if I can reach 100% again.

The mentality you have to go by is that of an athlete that really knows your own body, your limitations, and how fast you think you can progress. Don't feed your ego by going too hard too fast. You will pay for it more if you do.

If you haven't already done so, you can "test" yourself by doing certain exercises at the pre-injury level and then gauge your efforts from there. I did a test ride a couple of times after my accident and while I was riding fast, I had no strength and no stamina. I had to rebuild everything.

This also means eating well - organic foods, gluten-free if possible, eat your veggies, plenty of protein and amino acids. I'm at a point where I'm transitioning to a vegan diet and I've been feeling much better because of it.

Hope this helps and ask me any questions you have.

[Mark in Idaho]

I think this needs a bit of a clarification.

<The mentality you have to go by is that of an athlete that really knows your own body, your limitations, and how fast you think you can progress.>

The brain recovers at a rate and mode that is unique to the brain. You can push and strain muscles because that is how they strengthen the muscle fibers. The brain does not respond to strain in a positive way. It rejects strain and will deteriorate to a prior condition

The athletic mindset of wanting to increase or recover muscle strength as fast as possible is counter to brain injury recovery. This needs to be kept in mind.

[bh_pcs]

That's why I said, "Don't feed your ego by going too hard too fast. You will pay for it more if you do."

Many athletes motivated to get well quickly need to hold themselves back. Getting a coach or at least someone to hold you accountable for keeping your injured brain healing as the upmost priority will help.

Let me put it this way: do what your brain can handle, not your muscles.

[SI33]

Best advice is to keep working on flexibility. Take the time to work on some alternative workouts, hell they're popular with plenty of pro athletes - do the resistance bands, plenty of stretching, and keep up with the protein intake.

I went back to intense lifting right after I got a concussion and didn't feel too good for it. On one instance I felt like I was going to pass out, probably set myself back a bit doing it.

Take care of the basics now and you'll not have too much hassle when you get back to the gym. When you do, break yourself back in slow (do single sets for a while). Doctors always say "you'll know when you're ready", which is pretty sound advice. When you feel like you want to lift, you're obviously well on the way to feeling better. Concussions are known to sap the desire for a while.