Before I begin, sorry for the long post but anyone who reads it all and assists would be greatly appreciated!

So I received a concussion November 2020 from an accidental knee to the face during martial arts training. It threw me pretty bad. I wasn't knocked out and had never had a concussion before but I had a headache so sat out training and iced my head.

However, I knew something was off as I felt out of it driving home and didn't come right for the next 4 hours so I went to doctors and they said it was a concussion.

Worst injury I have ever had by far: 8 days off work, couldn't look at screens or do much of anything for about 5 days, and it took me about 2 weeks to feel better.

Returned to martial arts training at the 3 week mark. Looking back I wish I hadn't as after tons of research I got the impression that even if you feel symptom free at 3 weeks (like most places suggest for returning to sport), that your brain is still in the very critical healing stage for up to 6-8 weeks.

Now I am not saying this is true but it makes me wish I had taken a little more time to recover especially since I was returning to a contact sport.

However, I went back to normal and trained for 4 months perfectly fine. But then it happened. I was lying on the mat on my back and my head no joke got bounced fairly lightly up and down a few times probably no higher than 5 - 10cm on a semi soft mat and I instantly knew something was wrong.

I felt off again and again got checked by doctor and physio. They "diagnosed" another concussion but I was back at work within 3 days, and apart from not doing exercise felt mostly normal save a few headaches, tightness in neck etc.

This made it complicated because the doctors and physio were then saying they were not sure it was a concussion, and my physio reckons that the first concussion gave me a major whiplash and that this second episode was actually an issue with my brain stem/neck and not a concussion.

Even my doctor was potentially saying it wasn't a concussion.

HOWEVER, this is where things went downhill. I was actually in a new(very mentally demanding job), very soon after this "supposed concussion" and for the most part was able to function just fine.

I continued everything I did except sport, and I quit martial arts (grappling) and did NO exercise for 5 months. Again, this was a HUGE mistake on my part I think but I was SO scared of getting a concussion because I now believed that even small bumps can cause them since my previous "concussion" was so light.

Little jolts/jostles/bumps would cause a MASSIVE spike in symptoms. I would get a tight neck, headache, feel "out of it" nauseous, dizzy etc depending on the situation and I think over the last year I have been to doctor/physio probably about 11 or so times for "suspected concussion." Not once have I actually had one since, and I have been way better the last 6 months but still occasionally get flair ups.

So after months of this, I thought I had PCS but my doctor and physio reckon it is completely to do with my neck. And I think now I am 100% believing that as I've been pretty good the last 5 months and have been having weekly physio for strengthening myself and also having my neck adjusted once a week.

Fast forward to today and I haven't had it adjusted for 3 weeks and the last week has been fairly bad with little jolts/jerks causing issues and right now, I bumped my head very lightly and I have been feeling tight and pressure in head all day.

So it seems like it is all coming from my neck because when my neck goes out then I have bad symptoms.

So my big question is, what can I do moving forward? I can train gym fine, I can play tennis or swim fine, but I want to return to grappling martial arts. It has been over a year now since my last "concussion" but I am just SO scared of going back to grappling and having my head knocked accidently or my neck whiplashed or jolted.

I miss grappling SO much and I don't want to live in fear my whole life because right now, I feel like I live in fear. Everytime I jolt or bump my head I get stressed and anxious and even thought I manage it better and tell myself I'm fine, sometimes I get a bump or a knock that makes me feel crappy and I start stressing about a concussion all over again.

I'm honestly scared because I NEVER used to even THINK about concussions and always thought they were things people who got MASSIVE knocks got and now I think about them all the time.

Even when I am on the motorbike and go over a bump too hard and it bumps and shocks through my bottom into my neck and head I worry.

What do I do? If it is all coming from the neck what can I do? Anyone else experienced this?

Thanks for listening!

The brain's inflammatory system is on high alert after an injury and so it can over-react and pump out too much inflammation in response to those minor bumps/jolts. That inflammation causes the symptoms.

So your brain needs to learn to stop over-reacting. If you want to get back into Grappling, do a very gradual return. Start with 5 minutes then stop, wait a week, then do a little more each week. Do just enough to cause mild discomfort but not so much to cause a setback. And wear a helmet to protect your head.

When you experience symptoms from minor bumps, take a double dose of Omega-3 DHA and Curcumin immediately after the incident. Both are anti-inflammatory and neuro-protective so they will protect your brain from possible injury.

A lot of the foods we eat, especially refined carbohydrates and processed vegetable oils, cause inflammation which will exacerbate your sensitivities. So you should adopt a low carb high fat / ketogenic / sugar free / wheat free / organic diet to help keep the inflammation down as part of your treatment.

• Stop eating sugar and refined carbohydrates (fructose, wheat, white flour) because they cause inflammation, lack nutrition, and are acidic. Replace wheat with whole grains such as Quinoa flour, Almond flour, or Chickpea flour.
• Avoid processed vegetable oils such as Canola oil as they can cause oxidation and inflammation which is destructive. Cook with healthy saturated fats such as Coconut oil, Olive oil, butter, or animal fats instead, and eat lots of it.
• Processed foods often contain the bad ingredients and added sugars so they should be avoided.

A neck injury will also contribute to the symptoms so keep pursuing that treatment.

The goal is to give the body optimal nutrition and optimal conditions so the brain can heal itself.

I would find a less risky sport for now... at least wait until you have no issues flaring up from minor jolts/bumps for many months.
And start back very slowly with any risky activity when you are doing better long term..

It does sound like your neck has soft tissue /stability issues..
Possibly your C1/C2 needs adjusted..
Explore Up C Spine for info on that.

Explore the sticky threads in the upper area on the main PCS/TBI page.

Anxiety & worry can re create some symptoms also.. sorting those out is important.

DeanBJJ,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

You have asked a great question. Contact sports are a high risk, especially for you.

It sounds like you are depending on physio and whoever adjusts your neck to fix you. That will not help as much as you hope.

You need to work at your own directed healing. Head impact whiplash neck injuries require serious discipline so the upper neck can stabilize. This means disciplined posture while sleeping. Many 'neck adjustments' are too aggressive. The C-1 and C-2 joints are not self aligning like the lower cervical vertebra. They are slow to stabilize.

Physios like to work on range of motion. That is often not helpful. That should come after the neck as regained stability.

Most chiros like to do 'twist the head and pop the neck' adjustments. Those are fine for the lower vertebra but are questionable for C-1 and C-2 joints. Gentle traction and mobilization is good. There are upper cervical specialists

Learning to sleep with good posture is important.

If you choose to continue with grappling or other contact sports, you can plan on a roller coaster ride from the traumas you experience. You may lose the ability to work in a high paced, high stress job. Many do.