Concussion 101
What is a concussion?
A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) that can impact a person’s physical, cognitive, and emotional well-being as well as sleep. When most of us picture a concussion, we think of contact injuries - two soccer players knocking their heads together, a football player being tackled, or a child falling from playground equipment and hitting their head on the ground. Contact injuries make up the majority of concussions; however, non-contact injuries - such as whiplash experienced in a car accident - can also cause concussions. Common causes of concussion include sports and recreational activities, falls, motor vehicle crashes, and non-accidental trauma.
What are concussion symptoms?
Symptoms following a concussion/mTBI typically fall into four main areas:
Physical symptoms may include: headache, nausea/vomiting, dizziness, fatigue, and light/noise sensitivity.
Cognitive symptoms may include: attention problems, feeling “slowed down”, feeling “foggy”, memory problems, and trouble thinking clearly.
Social/Emotional symptoms may include: irritability, anxiety, sadness, and feeling more emotional.
Sleep symptoms may include: sleeping more/less than usual and trouble falling asleep.
Concussion vs mTBI?
Concussion and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) are synonymous terms, though concussion is more commonly used. Connotations around the word “concussion” lead many to believe that this type of injury is not that serious, which can sometimes result in symptoms being brushed aside and lack of proper treatment. A brain injury, regardless of severity, can have impactful effects and should be taken seriously.
How is a concussion diagnosed?
A concussion/mTBI can be diagnosed by a medical provider such as your PCP or at the hospital emergency department. Following a head injury, your provider will complete a history and physical examination to assess symptoms. Imaging tests such as a CT or MRI scan may be completed; however, these will typically only rule out a more severe brain injury as a concussion presents without findings on imaging.
How common are concussions?
The true incidence rate of concussion/mTBI is unknown- many times, injuries are not reported to medical providers if a person does not feel the need to seek medical assistance and most data is collected from emergency departments rather than PCP visits. As noted above, connotations about concussion lead many to believe these symptoms are not serious when in reality this is not the case. Of those that do seek medical assistance from the emergency department following a traumatic brain injury, 70-90% of these are for concussion/mTBI.
Who might be involved in care for a concussion?
Your PCP
Neurologist
Physical Therapist
Speech Language Pathologist and/or Neuropsychologist
Psychologist/Psychiatrist
Social Work
Optometry
Audiology
What about sports?
Adolescents make up the majority of sport related concussions. Athletes are more likely to experience a concussion during a game or competition than they are during a practice. In sports in which males and females play with the same rules, females have a higher incidence rate of concussion; however, female athletes are also more likely to report concussions and symptoms than males.
The sports with the highest concussion risk include:
Football (boys’)
Soccer (girls’)
Lacrosse
Ice hockey (boys’)
Wrestling (boys’)
Field hockey (girls’)
Basketball (girls’)
About the Author
Brynn Schor, MS, CCC-SLP, CBIS (founder of Peninsula Specialty Speech Therapy, based in Menlo Park, California) specializes in assessment and treatment of cognitive communication deficits and executive function coaching for pediatric patients in the Bay Area and across California. Consultations provided worldwide.
