I went over the bars mountain biking pretty hard this past Sunday.
Though oddly enough there isn’t a single scratch much less any cracks or dents on the helmet.
But I suffered a minor concussion, no memory loss or blacking out etc… just a minor headache, which is the same today as it was 6 days ago.
My doc said at least week off any exercise even light exercise.
Was curious, for those that have suffered something similar, how long did it take for the symptoms to go away? how long did you stay of the bike/gym?
Concussion protocols are very individual. There are no cookie cutter recovery guidelines, everyone recovers differently. If you still have a headache don’t go back to anything yet. I would recommend seeking out a physician or physio with concussion rehab experience, and follow their suggestions / guidelines. Even if you think it’s minor… it is a head injury. Take care of it.
I agree with the above. Each person’s concussion will dictate their recovery - not cookie cutter at all. Work with your docs and listen to your body.
Everyone is different. That said, I would recommend you avoid screen time, mental fatigue (take some sick days from work), and ensure you have good sleep hygiene + more sleep in general.
I was able to start going for walks within my first week, run/walking by week 2, trainer without screens week 2. Swimming was the hardest.
Listen to you body and ease in. Stop as soon as you get dizzy and step down the activity level the next day.
My other half had a bad concussion and rushed back, he still believes he is experiencing negative consequences from that (5 years later!) to the point that anytime he even a little hits his head, he gets full concussion symptoms.
Seriously, erring on the side of caution and easing in at a level where it feels stupid/pointless to try to do anything is the appropriate path. Concussions are no joke.
I have had 5 concussions now by the age of 33.
Varying from the first 3 taking 2-3 weeks to get over and the last 3-6 months. My sister got one 4 years ago and still has symptoms from time to time so take extreme care!
The first three I had felt the worst you know sleep 14 hours a day, just lying in a dark room and do nothing. The last two were much more mild like yours but they would just not go away.
Limit/eliminate screen time, take time off work. Mental stress is not good, eye strain is not good.
Once you start feeling better ease into your job again e.g. work for an hour (maybe more in your case) then go lie down. Or as soon as you get symptoms stop the activity.
You might be lucky and yours is all gone on a week but getting too fast back can give you a relapse.
For training, running and the bouncing is not always nice. Cycling is easier there but watch out for tight shoulders, that can lead to tightening and headache.
I’m not trying to scare you and by all accounts you might be fresh in a week, but just trying to give you some insight and to tread carefully!
I have had 5 concussions now by the age of 33.
Varying from the first 3 taking 2-3 weeks to get over and the last 3-6 months. My sister got one 4 years ago and still has symptoms from time to time so take extreme care!
Seven (diagnosed & documented; who knows how many were missed)
Although I haven’t suffered a new one in many, many years, I’m at the point now where I’m worrying about CTE and/or dementia down the line
Ian Boswell (who retired from the World Tour because of concussions) has covered the subject on his podcast, Breakfast with Boz. Basically, protocols for recovery have changed significantly, and it’s best to get in touch with an MD or clinic that does speciality work with concussions.
I don’t know how long you cannot train the typical triathlon way, sorry.
But you can still exercise in a different way, simply avoiding blood pressure and HR going up. Do stretch sessions and black-rolling sessions, because both will prevent your muscles from cramping up while being off from sport for longer. Do reflex and maybe some cognitive training. Good luck.
This is very personal. Long story short is that it just takes time, to my limited understanding, it’s not a bone that takes 6-8 weeks, it has its own timeline. Every injury, every trauma is different. When my wife had hers she was told 90% of people are 90% better in 90 days. Focus on your health, both mental and physical, stay away from blue light, go to therapy/rehab if you have any inkling that it could be beneficial.
As others have posted it is rather individual. I have had a handful and generally speaking the recovery time took longer for each, from a few weeks to months. My last was associated with a TBI and took about 4 months for what I considered a full recovery which as my neurologist described as “you are no dumber now than you were before the crash”.
We went through this with my wife ~10 years ago. Like everyone said, very individual. The thing I kept hearing at the time - if you’ve treated one concussion, you’ve treated one concussion. And everything was so vague. There’s no way to measure things, presumably you don’t have some established baseline like an NFL player… take it easy and take precautions. My wife got to be fully functional fairly quickly (a month, maybe?) but didn’t feel quite normal for a long time. The Kid was a baby then so every time he hit her in the head (not hard, just as babies do) she said she could feel the concussion’s aftermath. That lasted a while, more than a year.
I did not stick the landing flying off a bike at the velodrome (at least that’s what spectators told me, I blacked out), and ended up in the hospital overnight with a concussion, 11 staples and significant road rash.
I had weird vertigo for a few days, which resolved with the Epley maneuver. I was back on the bike (very easy spinning) after another few days of no dizziness, no lasting issues. I guess I got lucky.
At about 11 years old, my son hit the wall during sparring for Tae Kwon Do. He doesn’t remember the wall impact but didn’t black out. It was over a month before he could exert himself without a headache.