Socials
Concussion lawyer Atlanta, Georgia

What are the long-term effects of concussions?

How Long Do Concussions Last?

Mild concussions can resolve in a week or two, but severe concussions can last for weeks or months. The symptoms of a concussion should fade, but medical experts usually suggest taking it easy for a while so the brain can fully heal. The concussion’s length usually depends on the intensity of the injury.

What Are Common Causes of Concussions?

Sports-Related Injury

In younger demographics, sports-related injuries cause a lot of concussions. According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, most athletes who play contact sports will have at least one concussion after five years of playing.

Vehicular Collision

Bicycle, motorcycle, car and other vehicular collisions often cause people’s brains to fiercely rattle in their skulls. A driver or passenger’s head may also forcefully strike a hard object like a dashboard or steering wheel. The impact may be worse for people on motorcycles and bicycles because they do not have seatbelts and other protections that cars offer. Cyclists of all types can gain some protection from traumatic brain injuries and concussions by wearing a helmet.

Physical Assault

Physical assault comes in different forms, including spousal abuse/domestic violence, robbery and physical altercations, like a bar fight. If the victim of an assault or a participant in a fight is thrown to the ground or hit in the head with a sharp or heavy object, they may suffer a brain injury. These can range from blunt force trauma or whiplash to skull fractures or piercing injuries

Explosives

Many veterans suffer from concussions from explosives, but one does not need to join the army to be injured by an explosion. Someone’s negligent mishandling of confetti cannons, fireworks, natural gas or propane grills or other explosives could endanger anybody in the blast zone. Explosions create over-pressurization waves that can cause severe damage to a person’s brain.

What Is the Treatment for Concussions?

Most doctors start with neurological exams and cognitive evaluations. Generally, a neurological exam tests the patient’s senses, coordination and reflexes. Cognitive evaluations focus on information recall/memory and concentration. In television, an injury’s cognitive damage is often shown as the character’s inability to answer simple questions such as the year or their name. Imaging tests are often a good way to determine whether the injury caused physical damage like brain bleeding, swelling or a skull fracture. However, many doctors reserve CT scans for more severe injuries so patients are not needlessly exposed to radiation. After a concussion is diagnosed, a patient usually spends the night in the hospital for observation and is discharged if they don’t need medical attention.

What Are the Long-Term Effects of Concussions?

Memory Diseases

The NIA Intramural Research Program funded a study on the long-term effects of concussions. The study found that people still had signs of brain damage decades after a concussion. According to the study, the damaged regions of the brain left people more susceptible to age-related memory diseases like Alzheimer’s and Dementia.

Communication Difficulties

Some patients have difficulty communicating after a concussion. Forming and/or understanding words can be a difficult hurdle for people to overcome after a concussion. Some patients will need to meet with speech-language pathologists to fully recover their verbal skills.

Sleep Disorders

Difficulty sleeping is a common side effect of concussions. Post-concussion insomnia could turn into a long-term problem if the patient’s circadian rhythm is thrown off from their time in the hospital or if they develop unhealthy habits like using their phone in bed because they cannot sleep

Have You Suffered a Concussion or Head Injury in an Accident?

Are you or a family member suffering from the long-term effects of a brain injury caused by someone’s negligence? If you answered “yes” and live in the greater Atlanta area, you might be eligible for compensation. Contact our Georgia brain injury lawyer at the Law Office of Johnny Phillips today by calling 833-JOHNNY3 (833-564-6693) for a free
consultation.

Scroll to Top