Concussions

A concussion is a traumatic brain injury caused by a blow to the head or violent shaking. The impact causes your brain to move rapidly inside your skull, stretching and damaging axons (the connections between neurons). This mechanical disruption triggers a neurochemical cascade: glutamate floods the synapses, causing excitotoxicity; calcium rushes into cells; mitochondria become depleted; inflammatory molecules activate. Your brain enters a state of metabolic crisis. For days or weeks, your brain operates in this altered state, with reduced energy availability even though demand is high. This is why concussed brains are vulnerable to re-injury during the recovery window.

Concussion symptoms reflect the brain systems being disrupted. Physical symptoms (headache, dizziness, sensitivity to light/sound) occur because the brainstem and visual/auditory processing centers are affected. Cognitive symptoms (difficulty concentrating, memory problems, slowed processing) reflect disturbance in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. Emotional symptoms (irritability, mood changes, anxiety) reflect amygdala and anterior cingulate disruption. These are NOT signs of weakness—they're signs of genuine neurobiological disruption.

Recovery requires proper protocol and time. Your brain needs cognitive rest in the initial days (limiting screen time, schoolwork intensity), then gradually increasing cognitive demands while monitoring symptoms. Light aerobic exercise supports recovery, but impact activity must wait until symptoms resolve and medical clearance is given. Most adolescents recover within 2-4 weeks, but repeated concussions accumulate damage and increase dementia risk later in life. Prevention (helmets, proper technique) is far better than treatment.