Hello 🤠

I work for a friend of mine as an assistant dog trainer. (I’m not a professional, my friend is. I just walk around correctinh people based on what she has taught me. It’s usually groups of around 20-40 people on a big field so she can’t handle everyone herself)

The problem is that i got a concussion a little more than 1 and a half months ago and have had what might have been a second one 10 days after the first one and i still feel like garbage a month later with preassure headaches and foggines, nausea amongst way too many other things to name.

Many of the dogs are there at the training bacause the are bad mannered, so many of them jump up when you get near them. For the small dogs that obviously doesn’t matter, but the bigger dogs bump my head pretty often. Usually they hit my chin when im looking down and push my head upwards that way, sometimes they hit my temple if i’m looking away. (I’m not a particularly tall person, but about average).

My question is if that is dangerous for me? I don’t want to quit dog training, since it is pretty much the only joy i have left and that would leave my friend in a pretty bad position, but on the other hand i’m concerned that it might be making my recovery take longer, halt it entirely or even do more damage to my brain. Usually they hit me with their nose, which as you all know is pretty soft, but maybe once a week or every two weeks their skull collides with mine.

Thanks to anyone that answers :-)

Atlas, Last time. These jarrings are not damaging concussions. I will not respond to any more of these posts from you.

You have never even told us about your concussion history. What happened? What have you done to take care of yourself? What symptoms did you have at your worst? What symptoms do you have now? What happened 10 days later?

Okay that’s fine. I’m sorry to ask similar questions, and i do understand that you don’t want to answer repetitive questions. It’s an issue with me, i’m sorry. It’s just that i’m very frustrated. I’m very thankfull of your time.

My first concussion was caused by being pushed backwards violently and hitting a concrete wall. I am told i was out for about 3 minutes. My left pupil was blown out and almost didn’t react to light at all, causing the hospital to CT scan, the results were no bleeding, sent home but told not to be alone.

Second one was because i tripped and fell and hit my head on the floor. That time i didn’t lose conciousness. A CT scan was done again, which again showed no bleeding. I was unsure if i had actually got a second concussion, but the doctor that saw me said that one of my pupils had significant delayed reaction time, whether that was “left over” from the first concussion or not i don’t know.

The symptoms at their worst were a headsplitting headache for a couple of weeks especially when in well lit areas, fogginess, concentration difficulties, sound sensitivity, nausea and the occasional vomiting. Balance issues. My memory has never been very good, but i feel ot has gotten alot worse. Sleep difficulty (i can still only sleep for roughly two hours before waking and having to fall asleep again, and even when i do sleep i am plagued by nightmares)

The symptoms i have now are pretty much the same but way more mild. The headsplitting headache has been replaced with a pressure headache on the left side above the ear, when provoked with physical exertion it expands to a crown of pain so to speak minus the forehead. The vomiting is gone, but nausea occasionally makes an apperance. Light sensitivity is gone as well. The fogginess and concentration difficulty comes and goes, i have a hard time visualizing, something that i was always very good at.

Many of the symptoms were and are way worse if i tried any physical activity, so i’m very carefull with how much i exert myself, however i do push myself everyday so as not to stay inactive. I am already in treatment at a neurologisk, he had ordered a MRI, but the wait list is apparently long so i’m still waiting on word for when that will be, still i doubt it will show any real results, since my neurologisk told me that it is unlikely that they will find anything, he’s just doing it to be safe.

I have also attempted to get a psychologist to treat the anxiety, but that is not currently working out due to corona virus lockdown in Denmark. I am sure that many of the symptoms are anxiety related, in particular i suspect the visualization issue to be related to some kind of mental block, i certainly hope so. The other symptoms are most likely just enhanced by it. I feel i’m getting a better handle on the anxiety lately, as i said in my last post i try to not think about small things, but i still have a long way to go. It should also be said that i haver never ever had a problem with anxiety before all of this, i’ve always been a very grounded person, but no longer.

Last i’m also looking into someone that can take a look at my neck, because my neurologist said that many times neck problems could make a concussion feel many times worse than it actually is.

Your neuro is dead on. Up to 80% of concussion symptoms are caused by upper neck injuries. Both of your injuries could have caused upper neck injuries.

I guess the highly touted Denmark health industry has just as much problem helping people with subtle neck injuries and anxiety as the US system.

It sounds like you need to be proactive in looking for help. The subtle neck injuries are not cured by doctors and therapists. They only help the patient reduce the spasms so the patient can practice good posture discipline for months so the cervical ligaments can strengthen and stabilize.

Those behind the ear muscle spasms caused by upper cervical injuries can cause miserable headaches.

Thanks for the reply Mark.

Yes haha danish healthcare is many times unjustly deified in some american media, It’s good to have free public healthcare, but it’s not perfect. It’s sufficient for obvious injuries like cuts or broken bones, but it really falls short when it comes to not-so-obvious stuff like concussions, like i said in another post, all i was told was to not watch tv and to rest, not exactly very usefull instructions. Luckily i have good insurance, so my neurologisk is in the private sector, and i must say they are much much better.

Yes i am getting more convinced that a big part of it must be the neck, when i turn it i have these spasms or jerks, it’s hard to explain but if i turn my head at some random point during the motion my head will jerk slightly to the opposite side before continuing the motion. I know an ex-nurse so i’m going to ask her if she knows how i can strenghten my neck with some excercises, until i can get a professional to look at it.

Thanks for all the help Mark

Explore online & you tube for neck muscle spasms /soft tissue injuries & trigger points..
Strengthening for injured muscles is not the best plan..
You have to treat & heal it first..

The US media often touts the Danish and surrounding national health care systems as far better than the US system.

Find a physical therapist/physiotherapist who is expert with whiplash to help you.

Atlas,

Think ahead of your dog situation a bit.
You probably know in advance which dogs are jumpers, even if you don't you can learn to position yourself differently, approach the dogs with a hand out etc.
The point is sometimes after head injuries one aspect of care is getting clever with out routine life.
Bud

Approching an unruly playfull dog with a hand out or between my head and the dog will only make the situation worse, it’s an invitation to play. But yes the positioning is a good idea, most often i just turn my back or side to the dog and keep turning when they try to get in front of me. Most dogs naturally get the messeage and settle down, the problem is the random jumps that are impossible to react to. I can’t really have my arm out anyways, it confuses the dog because that’s the signal for sit, if it’s directly above it’s head, and i can’t have the dog sitting while i’m trying to make it do something else. It will also be harder for the dog to translate what i just showed it to what the owner will train with it, because my movement is different. Dogs are reliant on rutine. If you ever meet a dog that can do “plads” (i don’t know what that is in english, but when the dog comes and presses up against your leg) you can try to make it do a “plads” at the opposite leg of what it’s used to. It won’t understand, and will sit away from your leg or just go to the leg it normally sits at, because it’s used to the specific movement you make and that it has to make itself. Commands are more complicated than just saying the command, at least untill the dog is very well trained.

Thanks for the ideas anyway.

Unfortunately it won’t be neccesary anymore. Gatherings of more than 10 people are not allowed now while corona is happening, so i’m pretty much out of a job. My dog trainer friend only does small groups now and housecalls, so there is no need for me anymore, at least for the foreseeable future. Never thought i would lose my job because of a **flu, but hey here we are.