Across the Riding community Concussion is something we are constantly checking for and the industry is become much more aware in how to deal with concussion and return to sport which should filer out across the sport very soon.
One thing a lot of riders not understand when they get a concussion what the return too early to riding can mean.
Concussion is when a rider takes a knock to the head or the head is impacted by a force like whiplash that then has an impact on metal function of a person. Post concussion syndrome is when symptoms of concussion last longer than 3 months and affect between 5-30% of people who have concussion.
Post concussion is more likely to occur in women of an older age, if you have had a previous concussion, or suffer with anxiety, depression/ low mood or have a history of migraines. it is also more likely to occur if the injury was a double impact or if you suffered with significant dizziness or visual disturbances at the time of the inits injury.
Post Concussion syndrome has 4 main categories and riders can be effected in one area or multiple areas. Cognition, Emotional, Physical, sleep
Cognition symptoms include
Attention deficit
Poor Concentration
Short term memory Loss
Executive functions
Neurofatigue- Brain fog
Inability to multi task
Emotional symptoms include
Mood swings
Feeling of isolation
Loss of pleasure
Hyperactivity
Apathy or loss of motivation
Depression
Anxiety
Changes in personality
Loss of libido
Physical Symptoms include
Headache
Dizziness
Nausea
Photophobia
Tinitus
Balance disturbances
Visual disturbances
Sleep Symptoms include
Insomnia
Drowsiness
Difficulty in falling asleep
Changes in sleep pattern.
If you or anyone you know suffers with any of these or similar thing following a concussion or a possible concussion please seek further advice rather than just hoping these symptoms will go away.
We work with riders who suffer with Post Concussion Syndrome and help them return to sport safely following our stage by stage return to sport guidelines. In these guideline we take every rider through each stage ensuring they are not returning to sport too soon but are also not sitting corners.
to find out more about how we work with riders please get in touch Lotti@theneurocentricrider.co.uk or keep and eye on our page to find out more about our post concussion webinars.
Remember your if you don't look after your brain and allow a full recovery it WILL not look after you and this will have an effect on your riding in tightness, weakness, and poor stability.
One of the issues when seeking medical help is that many of these symptoms can also be linked to stress and or the menopause. Speaking from experience it presents a confused (excuse the pun) picture for a doctor and can be easily misdiagnosed or left untreated.