Concussion is one of the most common sports injuries, but kids, older adults, and nonathletes can get them, too. Concussion happens because of a blow to your head or an injury that shakes your brain inside your skull.
Concussions are treatable, but sometimes people miss the signs. The symptoms can be physical (like a headache) and mental (like feeling confused).
Once you’ve had a concussion, your brain is more sensitive to damage. That’s why it’s important to know concussion symptoms and to get treatment as soon as possible.
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A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury. You can get a concussion if you take a direct or indirect hit to your head or body. Athletes often wind up with concussions from falls or blows to the head.
Your brain is a soft organ that sits in spinal fluid, which acts like a cushion to keep your brain from banging into your skull. But if you get hit hard, your brain can “crash” into your skull.
The impact of that crash causes chemical and cellular changes in your brain — and can damage your brain. This is why any level of concussion can be a serious health problem. An injured brain is much easier to reinjure.
Some people heal from concussions quickly, while others may need weeks or even months. If you don’t get the right care for a concussion, you can end up with long-term effects.
Concussions are common in athletes. Each year, the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program in Pittsburgh sees as many as 7,000 people, of which 70% are high school athletes.
We’ve found that:
Concussions aren’t limited to athletes. They can happen to anyone. They happen in older adults, too, especially as a result of falls. People often miss the signs of concussion in older adults because they aren’t looking for them.
The path your concussion takes depends on how severe it is and how your brain responds.
There are generally six different types of concussion, organized around the symptoms you may feel.
This type of concussion can cause trouble with complex mental tasks and make you extra tired after long days.
You might:
Your vestibular system is your brain’s balance center. This type of concussion can cause trouble with balance, motion, and vision.
You might struggle to:
This type of concussion can cause you to have trouble with visual tasks like:
This type of concussion affects your senses. You can feel overwhelmed by loud places, such as concerts or sporting events.
Symptoms include:
This type of concussion causes trouble with stress or pressure on the neck, spine, or spinal cord. You may start having more frequent headaches.
Things such as slouching while on the computer or carrying a heavy backpack may worsen symptoms.
This type of concussion makes it hard to turn off your thoughts. You might have excessive worry and feel restless.
It can also make social interactions difficult. But on the flip side, your symptoms may get worse if you isolate yourself and avoid normal activities.
Since your brain is a soft organ, it needs the skull to protect it. And even though your brain sits in fluid that acts like a cushion, that cushion isn't enough when your head or body takes a hit.
A hard impact can make your brain shake around inside your skull — and crash into your skull. Think of this like an egg yolk moving freely inside an eggshell. This can cause small amounts of damage to your brain, which is why a concussion is a type of brain injury.
There are many ways to get a concussion that aren't related to athletic injuries. Some common causes of concussion include fights, falls, playground injuries, car crashes, and bike accidents.
Anyone can get a concussion, but athletes who take part in certain sports have a higher likelihood of concussion.
These include:
Younger athletes and females tend to take longer to get better from concussions.
No athlete should return to playing a sport until all of their symptoms are gone and a concussion expert has cleared them to play.
A concussion changes how the brain functions. This side effect can reduce reaction time and cause changes in vision and perception.
If a player continues playing with a concussion that hasn’t healed, they’re more likely to get another one.
Having one concussion doesn’t mean that the effects will “add up” if you get another concussion at some point. If you get the right treatment, you can make a complete recovery.
Concussion doesn’t always have obvious signs, and the signs can happen quickly or hours later. Some people have immediate symptoms; for others, symptoms may show up as much as two days later.
Some immediate symptoms of concussion are:
Other common symptoms of concussion that may happen quickly or appear later:
An athlete who has any of these concussion signs should leave the field of play immediately.
Young children have the same symptoms as older children and adults, but sometimes it can be harder to tell if a small child has a concussion.
They may have symptoms like:
All concussions are serious. If you suspect you, your child, or an athlete on your team has one, make an appointment right away. Research shows that the sooner you seek medical attention for a concussion, the faster your recovery will be.
You can request an appointment with the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program in Pittsburgh by filling out this form or calling 412-432-3681.
If you’ve been treated for a concussion, but your symptoms aren’t getting better, always call your doctor. Otherwise, you could be at risk for lingering symptoms.
To confirm if you have a concussion and which type you have, a concussion specialist will:
They’ll do an exam and may ask you questions to test your memory and ability to pay attention.
Your doctor might also:
Imaging does not diagnose a concussion specifically.
To rule out bruising or bleeding in your brain, your doctor may order imaging tests, such as:
At UPMC, we also use ImPACT, or Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing.
This test looks at the following before a concussion occurs and after a concussion as a comparison tool:
Concussions are highly treatable. The key is to get treatment as soon as possible. For athletes, that means immediately leaving the field of play if you have any concussion signs.
At the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program, we personalize active treatment plans for people. We understand that you want to get back to doing what you love.
No two concussions are the same.
While a short rest period is sometimes helpful immediately following a concussion, our research and exceptional patient outcomes show it takes more than that.
An active treatment approach — one that forces the brain to readapt to stimuli — is key to making a full recovery.
Your treatment may involve:
When your brain suffers a blow, a series of things happen at the cellular level. Essentially, there’s a chain reaction. The result is that you have decreased blood supply to your brain.
This makes your cells vulnerable, and another injury can damage them more severely. This is why it’s so dangerous for athletes with concussions to stay in a game or continue their activity. The dizziness, blurry vision, headache, and perception issues mean they’re more likely to fall or get hit again.
Even a person who isn’t an athlete is at risk for reinjury. For example, an older person with an undiagnosed concussion is more likely to fall again.
Concussions are complex injuries with a wide range of outcomes. Since each case is unique, there's no standard timeline for recovery.
Some people get better in days, while others need weeks or months. Some may endure long-term effects, usually if they didn't get the proper care. But the sooner you get the right treatment, the better chance you have of recovering fully, and faster.
