I was hit by a car last week.knocked out cold with no recollection of the event.
Besides other injuries I received a concussion.what is the current research regarding concussion recovery and endurance sports particularly triathlon.
Thanks
Did you see a doc yet?
If you are still experiencing symptoms of a concussion, you should lay low until they have subsided. Training through a concussion will only delay your recovery and may cause permanent damage.
My advice would be to go seek the advice of your doc ASAP if you have not aleady done so.
Time heals all wounds…You will want to stay off the bike and run and out of the water until a couple of months have passed. If you don’t, you may experience light headedness while you are exercising, seeing stars, etc. I’m not a doctor but unless the concussion was extremely severe, you should feel totally normal after 3-4 months.
Clearly good advice. Ive been well c
ared for by physicians since the event.
The advice though seems to come from a ’ contact sport’ perspective orfrom the perspective of a non athlete.
Im wondering if anyobe has or is aware of recovery for endurance athletes.
Clearly good advice. Ive been well c
ared for by physicians since the event.
The advice though seems to come from a ’ contact sport’ perspective orfrom the perspective of a non athlete.
Im wondering if anyobe has or is aware of recovery for endurance athletes.
Had a major crash and head tramua at IM Switzerland (head first into a house, broke my cheekbone, major TBI, too many other broken bones). Started back too fast, and 4 years later, I deal with daily post concussion symptoms. I suggest you just go with the advice that docs give hockey players and football players even though you likely will not get hit in racing (well, a kick to the head in a mass swim start is a very likely possibility). Until this year, I basically swam clear off the side of my wave in any swim and even in mass starts as I did not want another concussion. In any case, just play it safe. 2-3 months investment is worthwhile.
Clearly good advice. Ive been well c
ared for by physicians since the event.
The advice though seems to come from a ’ contact sport’ perspective orfrom the perspective of a non athlete.
Im wondering if anyobe has or is aware of recovery for endurance athletes.
I’m a former Jr hockey player who has since coverted to Triathlon. I’ve had a couple concussions and my brother has had a major one (still can’t work a full 9-5 day without feeling the effects 3 years later), so I’m pretty familiar with the topic. If you still have symptoms (headache, dizziness, feeling in a fog etc.) don’t rush back to training. That is the absolute worst thing you can do, even if its not a contact sport. As others said, make sure you see a doctor before returning to training. After you get the first one, its much easier to get the 2nd and 3rd… It’s worth taking a couple more weeks off to be sure you’ll back to full health rather than prolonging the effects. When returning to training come back slowly and be honest with yourself about how you are feeling. Don’t try to take on too much too soon. Brain injuries aren’t something you want to mess with. Best of luck and I wish you a quick recovery.
edit- Paul said it well. Be mindful of it moving forward, especially in the swim starts.
I’ve sadly had about 7 or 8 concussions.
the latest theories say that some activity at very low intensity is actually good. id still see a doc, but the return to play protocol I’ve followed in the past is:
nothing until you have no headaches
spinning on a trainer at hr of 120 but no higher , for up to 30 min for the next few days
if you get through 3-4 days at 120 with no ill effects, you can move up to 130 hr for the next couple. once you get to 150 per following that protocol you should be back to normal…but that takes 2-3weeks .
I’ve had some that have lingered for months, and some where I felt perfect after a couple weeks (but it’s always something I’m cautious with)
I was knocked out in a crit a few weeks ago. Doctor told me 2-3 days after the headache was gone, I could resume my regular activity. I was fine in a few days.
It’s can be hard to identify the severity of a concussion, obviously mine wasn’t that bad. Find a doctor you trust and follow his advice.
The advice given by the other posters is all excellent advice - Concussions are not something to train through. If you are still experiencing any dizziness, light sensitivity, headaches, or having difficulty concentrating, just chill or go for an EZ walk. Returning to training too soon may prolong recovery. Training while experiencing these symptons may also predispose you to crashing again and you don’t want even a minor bump to the head while recovering. When you do return to training, if you start to experience symptoms (which is quite common) back off and give it another week. It is better to err on the side of caution.
I work with high school kids and we err on the side of caution whether they are competing in contact sports or endurance sports. Any symptoms and they are sidelined. You don’t want to mess with a brain injury - especially as this is an area that is not well understood.
Wishing you a speedy recovery.
Race accident last year, 15 minutes out, no memory of the incident still.
Had zero headaches, zero problems, nothing. Felt well (except for some minor bruises and a scar on my hand) on the next day.
Took a week off completely and then another one off the bike and swim (starting some running). Added the bike back in after 2 and the swim after 3 weeks (basically until all the road rash was gone).
Until now I don’t have the slightest problems, no headaches , no dizzyness, nothing. I had another bike crash where my helmet hit the road hard, but no concussion and again no headaches … But about 20 min memory from the accident and about 5 minutes before are gone.
My doc said, as long as I can remember what I had for breakfast (which I do), this is not really a problem, it is actually the brain protecting itselve from further problems.
I would add one more thing. I had other injuries at the same time as the head injuries. When I returned to sport I was working around orthopedic injuries and compensating for pain. What happened is my new brains learned these bad horrible patterns and they started getting hardwired. It’s really bad as the nervous system was re establishing connections and re learning sport. It is only when I “break through” and do something old like sprinting or kicking a soccer ball, or catching a football that I end up doing it with my old “good coordination” firing. This really sucks. Since you don’t have any orthopedic injuries that go with the head trauma, this is not a concern, but I am posting here in case others are in my boat. Don’t “learn” new crap technique while your brain heals. Let the brain heal and then go back to sport the old way with your “good technique”. It’s taken me 4 years, but just in the last 2 months I seems to be converging back to some better old swimming firing patterns. Running is a work in progress, but I hold out hope. XC skiing that requires dynamic coordination in three dimensions seems to be a borderline lost cause. I went from a fairly elite masters level here in Canada to not being able to even balance on my left ski anymore. I really miss that and now I literally hate winter because it gets me depressed about what I cannot do.
I am far from elite (cross country), but actually I significantly improved last winter after my head injury. But I am sure, this is accidental and simply the years of trying adding up …
I actually had not the slightest doubt to come back after my concussion quickly and never regretted it …
Race accident last year, 15 minutes out, no memory of the incident still.
Had zero headaches, zero problems, nothing. Felt well (except for some minor bruises and a scar on my hand) on the next day.
Took a week off completely and then another one off the bike and swim (starting some running). Added the bike back in after 2 and the swim after 3 weeks (basically until all the road rash was gone).
Until now I don’t have the slightest problems, no headaches , no dizzyness, nothing. I had another bike crash where my helmet hit the road hard, but no concussion and again no headaches … But about 20 min memory from the accident and about 5 minutes before are gone.
My doc said, as long as I can remember what I had for breakfast (which I do), this is not really a problem, it is actually the brain protecting itselve from further problems.
I think you should consider yourself very fortunate.
I would add one more thing. I had other injuries at the same time as the head injuries. When I returned to sport I was working around orthopedic injuries and compensating for pain. What happened is my new brains learned these bad horrible patterns and they started getting hardwired. It’s really bad as the nervous system was re establishing connections and re learning sport. It is only when I “break through” and do something old like sprinting or kicking a soccer ball, or catching a football that I end up doing it with my old “good coordination” firing. This really sucks. Since you don’t have any orthopedic injuries that go with the head trauma, this is not a concern, but I am posting here in case others are in my boat. Don’t “learn” new crap technique while your brain heals. Let the brain heal and then go back to sport the old way with your “good technique”. It’s taken me 4 years, but just in the last 2 months I seems to be converging back to some better old swimming firing patterns. Running is a work in progress, but I hold out hope. XC skiing that requires dynamic coordination in three dimensions seems to be a borderline lost cause. I went from a fairly elite masters level here in Canada to not being able to even balance on my left ski anymore. I really miss that and now I literally hate winter because it gets me depressed about what I cannot do.
Thanks for your input.
I feel I will have to deal with other injuries as well…I have a fractured occipital condyle and compression fractured t7. Also shoulder pain.
The concussion seems to be the big question mark.
I remember nothing from 30 minutes prior to event and for multiple hours after. ( including an helicopter ride.and sutures to my face)…
I would add one more thing. I had other injuries at the same time as the head injuries. When I returned to sport I was working around orthopedic injuries and compensating for pain. What happened is my new brains learned these bad horrible patterns and they started getting hardwired. It’s really bad as the nervous system was re establishing connections and re learning sport. It is only when I “break through” and do something old like sprinting or kicking a soccer ball, or catching a football that I end up doing it with my old “good coordination” firing. This really sucks. Since you don’t have any orthopedic injuries that go with the head trauma, this is not a concern, but I am posting here in case others are in my boat. Don’t “learn” new crap technique while your brain heals. Let the brain heal and then go back to sport the old way with your “good technique”. It’s taken me 4 years, but just in the last 2 months I seems to be converging back to some better old swimming firing patterns. Running is a work in progress, but I hold out hope. XC skiing that requires dynamic coordination in three dimensions seems to be a borderline lost cause. I went from a fairly elite masters level here in Canada to not being able to even balance on my left ski anymore. I really miss that and now I literally hate winter because it gets me depressed about what I cannot do.
Thanks for your input.
I feel I will have to deal with other injuries as well…I have a fractured occipital condyle and compression fractured t7. Also shoulder pain.
The concussion seems to be the big question mark.
I remember nothing from 30 minutes prior to event and for multiple hours after. ( including an helicopter ride.and sutures to my face)…
OK then I would say wait as late as possible until you are orthopedically sound enough to do your sports without compensation and sticking with old “good” motor patterns. The last thing you want is new “bad” motor patterns to get hard wired, and then have to undo all that long after your brain/head injuries have cleared. Just this last weekend riding out of a the saddle, I had an “aha” moment on a hard 14% grade. It took something really hard at a really high intensity that I had not done in 4 years…i reverted to a pre accident firing pattern and became instantly aware that all my standing out of the saddle timing and “weight transfer” had some compensation built in that I had gotten used to. Little things like that I keep having to “un learn”. Stuff like how I step out of car or down a stair, while they don’t affect my sport, I increasingly realize that I am doing it substantially different on the left side of the body than the good right side. Some day to day life stuff that you may hard wire in a bad way, you can’t really get around, but you don’t need to go there on the sport side, so better not to. Even people with no head injuries who compensate for orthopedic injuries stay on the new compensatory movement patterns long after the orthopedic issues have cleared and it becomes worse yet after a traumatic brain injury. I constantly ask people at race when they see me on the course if they can pick out lack of symmetry etc to get feedback when I am at my most tired state and while I feel like I am doing things correctly, universally the answer is, “you looked like you are favouring an injury or were you injured?”. The quick answer is, “I guess I am not technically injured, but I guess in a way, I still am”.