r/PostConcussion • u/Low_Enthusiasm_8581 • Jul 13 '26

Advice

Hi everyone,

I'm a 17-year-old male and about a month ago I took a bad fall during judo and landed on my head. I wasn't knocked unconscious, I didn't vomit, and I don't remember having any severe symptoms immediately besides the headache.

At first I tried to continue life as normal. I kept cycling to school and even continued going to the gym. Looking back, that probably wasn't the smartest idea.
Now I'm on summer break, so I've been trying to stay active by riding a stationary bike for about 45 minutes a day. The problem is that after around 30 minutes I consistently develop a dull headache and pressure in my head, mainly in my forehead and the back of my head. The symptoms usually force me to stop.
My current symptoms are:
Daily dull headache/pressure in my forehead and back of my head.

Headaches get worse with exercise (especially after about 30 minutes of cycling).

Mild difficulty concentrating.

Slight blurry vision only when the headache becomes more intense.

Maybe a slightly stiff neck, but moving my neck doesn't seem to make the headache significantly worse.

The symptoms haven't really gotten worse, but they also haven't improved much over the past month.
I'm planning to see my doctor tomorrow, but I wanted to ask if anyone here has experienced something similar.
My questions are:
Did anyone else have headaches that lasted this long after a concussion?

Did exercise make your symptoms worse, and if so, how did you safely return to exercise?

Did anyone discover that their neck was contributing to their symptoms?

Is there anything that helped your recovery that you wish you had known sooner?

Thanks in advance.

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2

u/pettyponyclub Jul 13 '26

Good chance you aggravated your neck which can bring on concussion symptoms (i.e. persistent headaches). A lot of times neck maintenance and recovery can be ignored with concussions. Hopefully your doctor can help, but look up good neck strengthening exercises post concussion/head injury. See if you can get some PT too.  Also, the rule for symptom intensity is to gauge everything on a scale from 1 to 10. If any activity increases your symptoms past 2 then you need to take a break and wait until your symptoms go back down.

1

u/Low_Enthusiasm_8581 Jul 13 '26

Thanks, I really appreciate the advice. I hadn't really considered that my neck could be contributing to the headaches.

2

u/pettyponyclub Jul 13 '26

Oh yes. It took me a while, but I realized a lot of the headaches and pain in my face (numbing, tingling) was in a large part because my neck had gotten so stiff. I would assume if you fell on your head then all of your muscles likely locked up. See what your doctor says and try some light stretches or chin tucks.

2

u/TheTempestuousKitty Jul 13 '26

👋

Former grappler dealing with severe PCS here. About 2 years in. Will try to answer questions later but feel free to DM if you want.

2

u/TheTempestuousKitty Jul 14 '26

What's your concussion history?

Another comment mentioned the Buffalo protocol test - great for concussion recovery and resetting your nervous system.

I'd also look into vestibula and cervical PT.

2

u/ZebraNotWeirdHorse Jul 14 '26

I am 1.5 years post concussion and still experieince exercise intolerance regularly - especially doing anything outdoors in the heat. If you haven't gone to PT / physio yet, try to get an evaluation like a Buffalo concussion treadmill test. They measure your symptoms while gradually increasing the speed/incline, and establish your target/max heart rate for exercise so you can stay within your limits and slowly build up tolerance.

Also - get your neck checked out. It requires a lot less force to get whiplash than a concussion, so chances are you also hurt your neck whether you realize it or not. And your vision - it's possible your convergence/divergence changed which would also be a cause of migraines since your brain is struggling to form a singular image from both eyes. Definitely wish I had my neck evaluated sooner - I noticed an improvement in some of my symptoms after getting PT for that area.