Common Concussion Myths...
Which of the following statements are true and which are false. Tap on the button under each to learn more.
Loss of consciousness (LOC) is necessary for a concussion to be diagnosed.
FALSE! In 2020, about 6.8% of children had experienced symptoms of a concussion or brain injury at some point in their lives. The number goes up as children get older:
- About 2% of children under age 5
- About 12.2% of teens ages 12–17
Most concussions do not cause someone to pass out. Even though many concussions happen during sports, they also happen in other ways, such as:
- Car accidents
- Bicycle crashes
- Playground accidents
So concussions are not just a sports injury — they can happen in many different situations.
A concussion is a “traumatic brain injury.”
TRUE! A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury (TBI). It happens when the brain gets shaken or hit.
Symptoms can have minor or big impacts. They may include:
- Confusion
- Feeling lost or disoriented
- Memory loss
- Slower reaction times
- Strong emotions or mood changes
- Headaches
- Dizziness
When the injury first happens, you cannot tell how serious the concussion will be or how long the symptoms will last. Some people feel better quickly, while others may take weeks or longer to recover.
A parent should awaken a child who falls asleep after a head injury.
FALSE! It is not dangerous to let a child sleep after a hit to the head if a doctor has checked them and ruled out a more urgent problem (like a brain bleed).
If the medical observation shows it is a concussion and not something more urgent, then rest and sleep are important parts of recovery.
Sleep helps the brain heal after a concussion has been diagnosed. However, the child should always be checked by a medical professional first to make sure the family is dealing with a concussion and not a more urgent brain bleed.
A concussion is usually diagnosed by neuroimaging tests (i.e. CT scan or MRI).
FALSE! Concussions usually do not show up on brain scans like a CT scan or MRI. This is because a concussion is a cellular injury that causes functional problems. It is not a structural injury – meaning the brain's structure looks normal on images, but it is not working normally.
Healthcare Providers diagnose a concussion by:
- Looking at the signs and symptoms
- Asking questions about what happened
- Doing a careful exam
During a concussion, the brain goes through an "energy crisis." This means brain cells don't have enough energy to work the right way. Parts inside the injured cells get out of balance. Because of this, the cells don't work well. It's like the brain is running on a low or glitchy battery — sometimes it works fine, and sometimes it doesn't.
Healthcare Providers may still use a CT or MRI after a head injury to check for bleeding or other urgent conditions. But those scans usually look normal if the person has a concussion. So a normal scan does not mean a concussion did not happen.