But It Was Just A Concussion

A couple weeks ago, a friend of mine fell ice skating and suffered a minor concussion. A few days later, she went skiing and after a short time on the slopes began to feel ill and have a headache. When I spoke with her, she said, “I don’t know why I don’t feel well. It was just a concussion!”

Here in Pittsburgh, we’re used to hearing about “but it was just a concusssion” as we watch our beloved Steelers get bashed about and commentators announce, “Good news! Looks like it was just a concussion. His knees seem fine!”

In recent years, concussions are finally becoming better recognized as potentially serious. Unfortunately, many people fail to recognize when they’ve had a concussion — falsely thinking you have to be knocked unconscious to be diagnosed as having had a concussion.

You’ve probably had a concussion if you had a head injury that caused you to be:

- Knocked out
- Lose memory for before or after a head injury
- Feel dazed or stunned
- “Saw stars”
- “Got the wind knocked out of you”

If you’ve had a concussion, be sure to see your doctor. After a concussion you may have a wide range of disturbing symptoms that can last for days to months:

- Headache
- Dizziness
- Confusion
- Irritability
- Memory problems
Remember — the person who has had the concussion may not be a good judge of whether or not he or she is impaired. So if you notice changes in your loved one after being hit on the head, be sure to talk to his or her doctor to provide information about what’s happening.

It’s important to know that after a concussion you need to let your brain rest and avoid reinjury. During the time after a concussion, you’re at higher risk for re-injury and repeat concussion. To get better quicker, you need to rest your brain by avoiding mentally taxing activities - so this is a great time to spend going for dog walks, brushing your dog, or otherwise doing tasks that aren’t particularly mentally demanding. You also need to avoid re-injury by restricting yourself from activities that might result in another head injury, like contact sports or other sports and activities prone to result in falling. If you participate in sports, you should not participate in your sport until you have been symptom-free for 1-2 weeks after your concussion. Symptom-free means no residual headache, dizziness, confusion, etc. So joining back in the game that same day or even several days later shouldn’t be permitted.

Resuming activities too quickly:

- Puts you at risk for repeated injury
- Can delay your recovery
- Can result in worsening of post-concussion symptoms, like headache and dizziness

So enjoy winter activities, but if you slip and bump your head, take a break and give yourself time to recover. As we’ve seen this winter, there will likely be more snow in the forecast for future fun — so missing a few days of snow play won’t mean winter fun is done for the season!