7 Common Delayed Concussion Symptoms
Concussions can cause a variety of symptoms over various timelines. The immediate symptoms of fatigue, decreased mental function, and pain appear over the first few days of recovery. Other symptoms like eye strain, headache, sleep issues, and digestion problems often appear more insidiously over the weeks and sometimes months following the injury. Why the delay in symptoms? This article will outline some of the most common delayed concussion symptoms, their causes, and treatment options.
What Are Delayed Concussion Symptoms?
Delayed concussion symptoms, also known as post-concussion syndrome, can manifest days, weeks, or even months after the initial injury. These symptoms may include:
-Headaches
-Dizziness
-Memory problems
-Difficulties with concentration
-Sleep issues
-Dysautonomia
-Eye-tracking issues
This delayed onset can be particularly disconcerting for both the affected individuals and their caregivers, as it can occur at a time when they may believe they have fully recovered from the initial injury.
Common Delayed Concussion Symptoms
1: Headaches
Delayed concussion headaches are a common symptom that may surface days, weeks, or even months after the initial injury. These headaches can be persistent and debilitating, significantly affecting the individual’s quality of life. It can be challenging to diagnose the source when other symptoms accompany them. Familiar sources of delayed post-concussion headache include vestibular imbalances, eye tracking issues, dysautonomia, and structural changes in the cervical spine. Treatment involves diagnosing the underlying factor contributing to the headaches and working with a specialist to determine the most appropriate form of rehab.
2: Dizziness
Delayed dizziness is a common symptom that can occur after a concussion. This sensation of unsteadiness or lightheadedness may not manifest immediately after the injury. Still, it can instead arise days, weeks, or even months later. Individuals experiencing delayed dizziness may feel off-balance, disoriented, or as if their surroundings are spinning. The challenge with diagnosing delayed dizziness revolves around diagnosing central vs. peripheral causes. Peripheral dizziness is an issue with the vestibular organ itself. Central dizziness combines factors such as neck or eye dysfunction with vestibular dysfunction. Delayed dizziness following a concussion is often a hidden combination of factors that are not immediately addressed in the immediate rehab. Treatment involves identifying factors contributing to dizziness and treating them together simultaneously.
3: Memory Problems
After experiencing a concussion, it’s common to encounter delayed memory problems. This can manifest as needing help remembering new information or remembering recent conversations. As with most delayed concussion symptoms, the source of memory issues can be challenging to identify. Autonomic issues, GI-related problems, and outright damage to areas controlling memory are potential causes. Before pursuing brain-related causes, it’s essential to investigate less direct avenues. Lab testing for metabolic function, adrenal health, and digestive health is an excellent place to start. Autonomic testing is also helpful, as unidentified autonomic issues can affect cognitive functions of all kinds.
4: Concentration Issues
After sustaining a concussion, delayed concentration issues can often arise, impacting a person’s ability to focus and maintain attention. This can result in difficulties with tasks that require sustained mental effort, such as reading, working on a computer, or engaging in conversations for extended periods. These concentration issues can be frustrating and affect work or school performance. It’s best to identify other factors, such as autonomic function, GI health, and other metabolic factors, similar to memory issues, before concluding it is a brain issue. A comprehensive neuropsych battery is an excellent place to start if your metabolic health looks good. These tests can help identify the aspects of cognition affected and administer the appropriate forms of cognitive exercise that strengthen the mental skills affected by the concussion.
5: Sleep Disturbances
After experiencing a concussion, delayed sleep issues can often emerge, causing disruptions to a person’s standard sleep patterns. This may result in difficulty falling, staying, or achieving restful and rejuvenating sleep. These sleep problems can lead to increased fatigue, irritability, and difficulties with concentration and memory. Changes in autonomic function, damage to the vagal system, and blood sugar abnormalities are potential causes of sleep issues following a concussion. Before running a sleep study, things like Dutch testing, blood sugar tests, and tilt table tests help identify more specific underlying factors affecting sleep.
6: Dysautonomia
This is a catch-all term used to describe autonomic—nervous system imbalances. The brain and body generate autonomic functions by balancing sympathetic (fight or flight) and parasympathetic (rest and digest) responses.POTS, or postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, is a joint presentation of pots and is characterized by an elevated heart rate when your body is upright. This results in feelings of lightheadedness, fatigue, and anxiety. Damage to the vagal system, vestibular issues, and integration issues between the eyes, neck, and balance centers are common causes of post-concussion dysautonomia. Nutritional strategies, vestibular rehabilitation, integration therapies, and lab work are all effective ways to identify and treat dysautonomia following a concussion.
7: Eye Tracking Issues
Delayed eye-tracking issues are a common symptom that may arise following a concussion. Individuals experiencing delayed eye tracking issues may notice difficulties following objects smoothly with their eyes, maintaining focus, or experiencing visual disturbances. These issues can appear during screen time, driving, or busy visual environments like the grocery store or large crowds. Diagnosing the specific causes of delayed eye tracking issues can be challenging, as they may be linked to vestibular imbalances, neurologic dysfunction, or structural damage. Treatment involves a thorough assessment by a specialist to identify the underlying factors contributing to the eye tracking issues. If it is strictly an issue with the eyes, vision therapy, and prism lenses work well. Functional neurology works better if it combines factors such as vestibular imbalances and neck dysfunction.
Conclusion
Delayed concussion symptoms come in all shapes, sizes, and timelines. The healthcare system struggles to identify all underlying sources of delayed concussion symptoms for the 20% of concussions that do not heal on their own. The key to solving these issues is to triage your providers carefully, choosing a specialist with experience in diagnosing complex concussion symptoms. While it may seem daunting and concerning to encounter symptoms months after a concussion, there are plenty of highly trained specialists who specialize in diagnosing common delayed concussion symptoms. Be open and transparent with your providers, and understand many have gone through the same issues with success and confidence.
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*Note: The information provided in this article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute a doctor-patient relationship. Patients are advised to consult their medical provider or primary care physician before trying any remedies or therapies at home.
