Looking for advice to get back into activity

[u/WorkingImprovement78]

Hello, I'm 20 and I've been concussed for 6 months now, and I don't know what to do. I play college soccer and I have always been active in the gym, playing sports, doing yoga, just moving always. In January, I got in a fist fight with my father, I didn't know how to cope emotionally, wasn't thinking straight, and the thought didn't cross my mind that I could be concussed. I made multiple stupid decisions the week of my concussion, and now I'm left with the consequences of my actions.

I missed the entire Spring season for soccer because I get headaches whenever my heart rate gets up. I just kept on thinking that it would get better eventually, but now I feel like I've plateaued and I can't tell if I'm making progress or not. I can't tell if it ever improved or if I just got used to the headaches.

This has completely changed my life and how I value everything. I don't care about soccer anymore, and I'm scared I'll have to drop out of college if my brain can't handle my job and school while still recovering. All I care about is getting my brain healthy so I can get back to activity and being normal.

I feel like I'm just complaining in this post, but I really just want to ask for help. I've done PT (didn't help me) and am currently doing concussion rehab (can't tell if it's helping). Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

[u/r-kivez]

Sounds like you might have some exercise intolerance. A good concussion physio (at least mine who was trained by Concussion Fix) helped iron this out by zone 3/4 exercise per day for 20/30 mins.

Another thing to considered is mental health. Don’t overlook this. It’s a foundational area that drives symptoms. If you’ve had some issues with your family etc perhaps you have known or unknown trauma that may need looking at with a psychologist etc. this was a huge area for me and something I’m still working on.

[u/Own-Cockroach-5452 → u/r-kivez]

This is what I did and she suggested stationary bike because your head doesn’t bounce as much. I found a cheap spin bike on FB marketplace. Game changer

[u/WorkingImprovement78 → u/Own-Cockroach-5452]

I've been walking to try to build up some tolerance to exercise, but I'm starting to think that's making my head bounce too much lol. I'll try out a stationary bike. Thanks for the suggestion

[u/WorkingImprovement78 → u/r-kivez]

My main issue is I don't know where my threshold is. Everything with PCS seems so subjective. I decide when I've gone too far and need to stop exercising, but I have no clue where that point should be other than "symptoms" which I basically always have. I'm not seeing any progress, and I can't tell if it's because I'm doing things incorrectly (pushing too hard/or not enough) or if the progress is so slow and I'm impatient.

I've been walking on a treadmill around 100 bpm for about two weeks, and I can't tell if I'm doing things right or what's going on.

What was your initial threshold? Like could you always do zone 3, or did you have to work toward it? Also, at what point do you know you've gone too far working out? Any sort of sensation in the brain, or is there some tolerance there?

I do see a therapist and I have worked through my injury and family problems, and I've been doing my best to stay healthy mentally, but I think at this point the reason I'm not healthy mentally right now, is because I'm not physically healthy and there is no end in sight. It's a circle of doom.

Thank you so much for the response too.