Long Term Complications

When properly managed, concussions should have no long-term complications or consequences. If frequent concussions are occurring in an athlete, permanent disqualification from that sport or any other high-risk sport should be strongly considered. Medical research has not been able to identify a magic number for the number of concussions that can be used to restrict an athlete from participation. Each athlete's case is uniquely different and should be managed in that fashion. If the toll of too many concussions is realized, an athlete could suffer from permanent cognitive impairment or persistent post-concussion symptoms. These particular long-term problems carry significant lifestyle or quality of life issues. The typical cognitive decline is with earlier onset memory loss such as in a dementia syndrome. There are also problems with reasoning and higher level decision-making skills. Typical persistent post-concussion symptoms include headache, depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance, fatigue, balance problems, and lack of motivation. The best way to avoid these problems is by managing each concussion appropriately and making responsible decisions about discontinuing a sport when the number of concussions is increasing in frequency or occurring with less of an impact.