I mentioned in another post a while back that I play reasonably high level recreational table tennis (ping pong) and have done leagues and tournaments. It's one of those sports where you swing the paddle to finish fairly close to the forehead in a 'salute' style of motion.

A few days ago I was playing against a guy who puts a lot of underspin (backspin) on the ball and so to get the ball over the net can require a good upward 'lift' to keep your ball from going into the net. And so on one particular shot, I might have swung a little too quickly and vertically and during the swing follow-through I managed to hit my right temple with the paddle. The paddle blades are made of wood and weigh a little over a half pound. I swung pretty fast as well since it was an attacking shot - the part of the paddle that hit me was the wood and not the softer part of the paddle where there is a rubber material.

The immediate symptom afterwards was a higher pitched noise that lasted for a few seconds. I've had tinnitus for several years and it kind of sounded like perhaps a slightly higher pitch and louder version of it. It went away after several seconds. The spot on my temple was fairly close to my ear and so I'm not sure if I hit the ear or just close to it on the side of my head (temple). Didn't get nauseous or light sensitivity, but I've had some moderate headaches in the four days since.

Does it sound like it could be a concussion? I'm mainly asking because I do other activities like volleyball and am trying to gauge risk of a second impact. I'm not sure if the hit from playing ping pong was subconcussive, an actual concussion., or just a 'setback.'

From personal experience I've found it better to air on the of caution for the first 3 weeks post hitting my head. Symptoms from concussions can take a few days/weeks to appear and your brain is often working harder than usual after a big bump even if you do not have defined symptoms. My last bout of PCS, I hit my head but felt mostly fine, so continued onto so big sporting events I had planned. Then a week or two after had sympoms of fatigue and concentration seep in with vengeance.

I play ping pong. I can't imagine that that hit was even a subconcussive impact. The paddle is light. You were at the end of your stroke so the speed was slowing.

You obviously have no clue what 'second impact' means relating to concussions. You must first have a serious concussion with serious symptoms before you can be at risk of second impact syndrome.

Just curious. Where did you get your first concussion information that has you so anxious about any head contacts?

I'm certainly not very knowledgeable in the science of head/brain injuries. I just recall the worst concussion or pcs-type recovery I had was when I had a had a hard second bump a few days after the first and had a foggy feeling where I had trouble staying awake afterwards and could only think about sleeping. It took at least a month for the lingering light sensitivity issues and daily headaches to go away at that time and most bumps since have not produced that level of trouble except for the time I fell backwards and my head bounced off the wall - roughly 3-4 months after the 'bad' concussion. I've also read of people on table tennis forums who reported of hitting their head during a similar stroke and 'seeing stars.'

Perhaps none since have even been subconcussive. The latest episode kind of had me confused since I'd never heard a loud pitched ringing immediately after a head hit and I didn't know if it was what is referred to as 'getting your bell rung.'

I can't imagine seeing stars from intentionally trying to hit myself in the head with a paddle. It takes 60 to 90 Gs to cause a concussion. The physics of a 1/2 pound paddle hitting a 8 pound head makes it very difficult to reach a 60 G threshold. Your stroke was finishing so it was slowing down. Proper follow through does not power through much more than the ball contact.

Getting your bell rung is not really a sound. It is more of a vibratory sense of a chaotic sounds and vision disturbances and mental confussion. Your vision may make things look like they are vibrating back and forth as your eyes try to regain their coordination. Some may experience a tinnitus like sensation but it is not common.