Hello,

I've received a concussion about two months ago and I was wondering when I would be able to take NSAIDs. I've researched information about the topic online however the websites and articles I've seen only state that you should not take NSAIDs directly after a concussion; none of them state when it would be safe to take NSAIDs again. I consistently receive annoying headaches almost every day and usually Tylenol is not enough to alleviate my symptoms. Thanks for reading and any advice you could give would be much appreciated.

Zach,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. The only concern I've seen about NSAIDs is aspirin. It is a blood thinner and would not be best early on in case one has a brain bleed. At 2 months, it should not be a big issue. Minor brain bleeds usually resolve in the first week. If they continue beyond that, they would manifest symptoms that would usually be quite obvious like intense head aches, motor control problems, etc. Ibuprofen is commonly used for PCS head aches. I was taught by my doctor to combine Tylenol and aspirin at full doses for maximum effect.

Concussion head aches are often linked to subtle upper neck injuries. If you have sore spots behind your ears, that indicates muscle spams that can emanate from the neck. Have you tried icing the back of your head and upper neck ?

Have you been seen by a doctor ?

There's contraversy with NSAIDS. I'd always take them with food as they can upset the GI lining, causing more inflammation.

A stud showed that ginger is better for inflammation than ibuprofen.


If possible, curcumin is a good anti-inflammatory.