Hello everybody,

Ever since I learned about repetitive brain trauma, I have been constantly trying to recount every incident in my life that could have possibly been a concussion.

The scariest incident I can think of is my falling down a flight of stairs when I was a kid; to the best of my memory, there was carpet on that flight of stairs.

I remember that I bit the skin underneath my lips on the inside of my mouth.

However, I do *not* remember losing consciousness during this incident.

My question is:

Is it possible that I sustained multiple concussions from this one incident? If a person falls down a flight of stairs and bumps their head a few times, is it possible that this person has sustained more than one concussion?


Thank you so much!

No, if there was a concussion, it was just one. Multiple bumps can make a single concussion worse in some cases. I wonder if you are concerned after seeing the movie "Concussion." Some have expressed anxiety about developing CTE from concussions and bumps they have suffered.

Padded carpet on the stairs can reduced the impact forces greatly.

Whether you lost consciousness does not matter. Unless one ends up in a coma or has low Glascow coma scores, short periods of LOC do not statistical make much difference

Thank you, Mark.

I became extremely paranoid about CTE after learning about it; however, I did not learn about CTE from the movie "Concussion".

I believe I've messaged you about this before:

I don't recall ever sustaining a severe concussion. However, while I was a kid, I liked to wrestle my friends and cousin (I wrestled for "fun" for around 2 years?). And while I don't recall sustaining a concussion during wrestling, I'm still scared about developing CTE.

While I was a kid, I also did something to amuse myself: I shook (rotated?) my head rapidly like I was saying "no". And while I've heard some people say that your neck muscles probably can't produce injurious force to your brain (unless we're talking about something like long-term head banging), I'm still very concerned.

The only high school sport I participated in was Track and Field, so I wasn't taking constant hits to my head during high school.

However, I recall playing a few soccer game with my friends after the Track and Field season ended. During one of the games, I headed a soccer ball which was flying pretty high, and I recall quite a bit of pain. However, I stayed in the game, and I'm not sure if it was a concussion. I have never learned heading technique before this incident, and I deeply regret heading the ball that time. I might've headed another ball which was kicked pretty hardly either during the same game or during another game I played with my friends during that same period (after the Track and Field season). However, I'm not sure if this is just my mind playing tricks on me.


There was also another incident in which I hit the back of my head (moderately hardly or pretty hardly) against a wooden part of my bed while I was trying to lay myself down in bed. If I remember correctly, I was shocked (from hitting my head), and perhaps there was some pain. However, I'm not sure if I was concussed.

I am now 21 years old. I believe I am Obsessive-Compulsive (I think I've been this way for quite some time now), and there are times when I get very scared about developing CTE.

There are times when I feel like my mind makes up incidents that didn't happen. I constantly think about my life and try to recall every part of every incident in which I hit my head.

Mark, based on what I wrote here, what do you think are my chances of developing CTE?

Thank you very much!

My advice is to look into meditation. It's all about living in the moment. You can't control what is in the past. I struggle with this on an hourly basis but you have to try to overcome the past. It's just a concept. All that matters is here and now.

As sublime puts it "you might get run over or you might get shot"

Even NFL players have a very low incidence of developing CTE. And, they take lots of hits.

Your problem is your OCD. You continue to feed it. If you had never heard of CTE, would you be concerned ?

At 21, the most dangerous thing you can do is drive a vehicle. You already survived your teens driving a vehicle. CTE does not even reach a statistical event level, it is so rare.

Imagine a news report : "The man, worried about whether he would develop CTE in his old age, was distracted as he crossed the street and got hit by a Mack truck and died at only 22 years old."

Find some worthwhile and positive concepts to think about and enjoy your life.

Thank you, Mark.


Do you mean that CTE does not even reach a statistical event level later on in my life? Or, do you mean that CTE does not reach a statistical event level for me at this point in my life?

I also just remembered that, as a kid, I fell off of my bed a few times while sleeping. I might've hit my head during a few of these incidents. I strongly believe that I didn't lose consciousness during any of these incidents. Given these incidents (the times when I fell off of my bed as a kid), am I at risk for developing CTE later on in life (please also remember the incidents I mentioned in my earlier post)?

Thank you so much, Mark.

Thank you, Danny.