Concussion Symptoms Can Last Long After Initial Injury, Study Finds

Children who suffer from a concussion can experience a number of symptoms immediately after being injured. Physical symptoms – headache, dizziness and fatigue – begin immediately after the injury.

But emotional symptoms may appear later on during recovery, according to a new study in the journal Pediatrics.

For the study, researchers examined questionnaires from 235 children aged 11 to 22 who sustained a concussion. They answered questions regarding symptoms, cognitive and sports activity, and school and athletic performance for 3 months after their head injury or until all symptoms resolved.

While most children recovered from their concussion within two weeks of being injured, they experienced a large number of symptoms during that time period, according to a news release from the American Academy of Pediatrics. More than two-thirds of patients still had a headache one week after the injury. The most common symptoms were physical complaints such as headache, dizziness, and fatigue, which tended to start immediately after the injury but resolved over time.

Emotional symptoms such as frustration and irritability were not as common right after the injury, but developed later during the recovery period in many patients.

A majority of patients also experienced cognitive symptoms such as difficulty concentrating and taking longer to think.

The authors of the study conclude that physical symptoms of a concussion are likely to be more burdensome immediately after the injury, while the emotional symptoms often begin later even as the physical symptoms subside.

Understanding this is important for caregivers and families who will be managing symptoms and helping with the child’s recovery, the news release states.

Source: American Academy of Pediatrics

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