What Is Concussion?

Globally, an estimated 69 million people will suffer a traumatic brain injury each year, with 80% of those cases being classed as mild (Dewan et al., 2019). Concussion is a label given to a group of symptoms after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) or mild head injury, from which people usually recover in a short time frame (days or weeks; King et al., 1995; Sussman et al., 2018). However, one fifth to one third of people will experience persistent symptoms that last months or years after the concussion/mTBI event (Hiploylee et al., 2017). 

Common sequelae 

Concussion/mTBI is associated with a constellation of acute symptoms that usually appear within 1-5 days (Sussman et al., 2018). This includes nausea, dizziness, headaches, difficulty with sleep (including insomnia, sleeping too much, and sleeping too little), fatigue, difficulty concentrating, blurred or double vision, increased sensitivity to light and noise, and difficulty remembering recent or

This is a Psychology Tools information handout. Suggested uses include:

• Client handout – a psychoeducation resource.
• Discussion point – to provoke a discussion and explore your client’s beliefs.
• Therapist learning tool – to improve your familiarity with a psychological construct.
• Supervision tool – to develop formulations and knowledge.
• Teaching resource – a learning tool during training.

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• Chen, C. L., Lin, M. Y., Huda, M. H., & Tsai, P. S. (2020). Effects of cognitive behavioral therapy for adults with post-concussion syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 110190.
• Dewan, M. C., Rattani, A., Gupta, S., Baticulon, R. E., Hung, Y. C., Punchak, M., ... & Park, K. B. (2018). Estimating the global incidence of traumatic brain injury. Journal of Neurosurgery, 130(4), 1080-1097.
• Dikmen, S., Machamer, J., & Temkin, N. (2017). Mild traumatic brain injury: longitudinal study of cognition, functional status, and post-traumatic symptoms. Journal of Neurotrauma, 34(8), 1524-1530.
• Hiploylee, C., Dufort, P. A., Davis, H. S., Wennberg, R. A., Tartaglia, M. C., Mikulis, D., ... & Tator, C. H. (2017). Longitudinal study of postconcussion syndrome: not everyone recovers. Journal of Neurotrauma, 34(8), 1511-1523.
• Iverson, G.