A traumatic brain injury that alters the way your brain functions that can occur with a blow to the head or when the head and upper body are violently shaken.
- EVERY concussion injures your brain to some extent.
- Most concussions do not cause loss of consciousness yielding to some people having concussions and not knowing it.
- Concussions tend to range from mild to severe.
- Mild — may have a brief change in mental status or consciousness that may disrupt function.
- Moderate — will have longer lasting confusion and amnesia but with no loss of consciousness.
- Severe — an extended period of unconsciousness or amnesia occurs.
- All concussive injuries, whether mild or severe, need time and rest to heal properly or the risk of chronic symptoms dramatically increases.
Post-Concussion Syndrome (PCS)
PCS consists of a complex constellation of symptoms that persist for an extended period of time after the initial concussion. It affects up to 5% to 20% of those individuals that suffered a concussive event. The chance of developing PCS increases with each subsequent concussion without full recovery in-between each injury.
PCS symptoms include:
- Headache
- Dizziness, Nausea, Vomiting
- Fatigue
- Insomnia
- Difficulty concentrating and performing mental tasks
- Reduced tolerance to stress, emotional excitement, irritability, personality change
- Staring behavior, low blink rate, eye turn
- Blurred vision, double vision
- Loss of peripheral or focal vision
- Sensitivity to light/noise
- Feeling sluggish, hazy, groggy
- Impaired memory
- Words jumping on the page when reading
- Clumsy, poor depth perception
- Disoriented, poor balance
