Concussion

What are concussion symptoms?

Concussions stretch and injure nerves and blood vessels in your brain. They cause chemical changes that temporarily make your brain stop working like it should. Your brain will automatically redirect all its energy to healing itself after an injury. It will send signals to your body to get you to slow down and avoid activities. That’s where concussion symptoms come from. They’re your brain’s way of telling you to take it easy while it heals.

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Concussion symptoms can affect your:

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Physical body.
Cognitive function (your thinking and how your brain works).
Sleep.
Emotions and feelings.

Concussion symptoms may start right away. But some people don’t experience symptoms for hours, or even days.

Physical concussion symptoms are usually the most obvious and can include:

Headaches or a feeling of pressure in your head.
Neck pain.
Balance problems (including dizziness).
A feeling of lightheadedness.
Nausea and vomiting.
Double vision (diplopia).
Blurred vision.
Sensitivity to light (photophobia).
Hearing a ringing in your ears (tinnitus).
Sensitivity to sounds (hyperacusis).
Temporary loss of consciousness (fainting or passing out).

Your cognitive function is how well your brain works and controls the rest of your body. A concussion can interfere with your brain’s normal function and cause:

Confusion.
Feeling like you’re in a fog or not like your usual self.
Trouble concentrating or focusing.
Amnesia or short-term memory loss.

Your brain controls your body’s natural sleep cycles (your circadian rhythm). It tells your body when to feel sleepy and when to wake up. A concussion can disrupt those normal rhythms, including making you:

Feel drowsy or fatigued.
Have trouble falling or staying asleep.
Sleep less than usual.
Sleep more than usual.

A concussion is a physical injury that can affect your mental and emotional health. Emotional concussion symptoms can include:

Irritability.
Mood swings.
Depression or sadness.
New or increased anxiety or feeling nervous.

Concussion symptoms in babies and young children

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Babies and kids who aren’t old enough to talk or communicate can still experience concussions. But it can be hard to know what they’re experiencing because they can’t tell you what happened or how they feel. In addition to any of the symptoms above, your child may show other signs of a concussion, including:

Fussing or crying more than usual.
Refusing to eat or nurse.
A blank stare.
Being unusually irritable or cranky, even when they’ve had their usual amount of sleep or naps.
Sudden changes in their sleeping patterns, including not falling asleep like usual or being sleepy at unusual times.

What does a concussion feel like?

Everyone experiences concussion symptoms differently. But almost everyone has a headache after a concussion. It might be hard to explain, but in addition to any physical symptoms you notice, you’ll probably feel like something is “off.” You may feel dazed, stunned or like you’re in a fog. It might feel like thinking or concentrating takes effort in ways they usually don’t. Visit a healthcare provider if you hit your head and notice that you don’t quite feel like yourself.

What causes concussions?

Concussions happen when something jolts or shakes your body. If the force is strong enough, it can make your brain move back and forth or side to side and damage it.

Your brain tissue is soft and squishy. It’s surrounded by cerebrospinal fluid, which acts like a liquid cushion between it and your skull. Picture a glass bowl of gelatin. If you smack the bowl hard enough, the energy passes through the glass into the gelatin and makes it jiggle.

That energy transfer is what happens when you get a concussion. A strong force hits your head, neck or body, moves through your skull into your brain and makes your brain shake or wiggle. This force can twist and damage the tiny nerves and blood vessels in your brain.

The most common causes of concussions include:

Falls.
Motor vehicle accidents.
Bike accidents.
Physical violence like fights or assaults.
Sports injuries.

What are the risk factors?

Anyone can experience a concussion. People who have an increased concussion risk include:

People older than 65 or children younger than 4 (or anyone with an increased risk of falling).
People with physically demanding jobs like carpentry, landscaping or construction.
Teens and adolescents.
Athletes who play physically demanding or contact sports.
Anyone who’s had a concussion in the past.

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Teens experience more concussions than any other age group. Researchers think this is because their brains and bodies are still developing, and they don’t always have full control of their coordination.

What are complications of a concussion?

Concussions (especially repeated concussions) can cause some serious complications.

Post-concussion syndrome (PCS) happens when recovering from a concussion takes an unusually long time. You might experience symptoms for much longer than usual (four months, a year or even longer) after the original injury.

Other complications are rare, but can include:

Bleeding inside your skull or brain (intracranial hemorrhage).
Swelling in your brain (cerebral edema).
Midline shift (your brain moving off-center inside your skull).
Skull fractures.

People who’ve experienced one concussion have an increased risk for another, more serious concussion if they return to physical activities or sports too soon. Providers call this second-impact syndrome (SIS). SIS increases your risk of severe complications like brain swelling and bleeding. SIS can be fatal.

Experiencing multiple concussions and other head injuries increases your risk of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). CTE affects how areas of your brain function, communicate and work with each other.

Repeated concussions may also increase your risk of other health conditions, including: