A Tale of Two Concussions
Concussion recovery provision and practice in the UK is patchy, and so much depends on the route in straight after injury. This is true not just in terms of access to rehabilitation, but also applies to the duration of issues for the people who remain symptomatic after 4 weeks. The longer the ‘wait and see’, the longer the recovery journey is likely to be. Add into the mix the undiagnosed concussions - the people like me who know something was wrong but not what - the timeline gets longer.
Unfortunately in our family we now have a tale of two concussions. Below is a diagram that shows our concussion care journey by month. Jesse recieved in 2 days what took me 5 months to access. The speed and quality of care given by Return2Play was incredible, because his school takes sports injuries seriously. He had no incident or symptoms on the pitch, it started with a headache and dizziness that evening and fatigue thereafter. Other parents may have missed it entirely because it was neither dramatic nor obvious. He was just “not himself’. It is of course likely that Jesse would have recovered in this timeline without intervention, but we had access to everything from the start, should it have been necessary. He had a concussion and it was taken seriously.
Like many people, I had to work it all out and find my own path through. It was after 10 weeks of research that I discovered about Post Concussion Syndrome, and my symptoms ticked all the boxes. I am fortunate in having medical insurance, and I knew to press my Neurologist for referrals. Even then, my care wasn’t joined up, I only had a general vestibular physio rather than access to neuro OT and neuropsychotherapy and other holistic concussion recovery support. When I asked if I would recover, my Neurologist shrugged his shoulders. At least he was honest that he didn’t know.
But relatively speaking, I was still lucky. For someone in my position relying on the NHS, the referral timeline would be significantly longer, and proper referrals possibly never done because so many GPs and Neurologists aren’t aware of concussion rehabilitation. Long term concussion care seems to often be invisible if your point of access is via hospital or a GP who, at best, says it’s “just a concussion, you’ll be fine.” In my work I have come across so many people with similar experiences to me, who have had non-sports concussions, and just got lost. Totally, profoundly lost.
I am now convinced that people can make a good recovery from post concussion symptoms, even if it’s been months or years. I now understand why, and how, that is possible, at least to an extent where life is liveable again. What is most galling is that my 2.5+ year recovery journey could have, and should have, been months not years. Our approach in the UK needs to change.
