Managing Your Athlete’s Concussion: The First 24 Hours

How you manage your athlete’s concussion in the first 24 hours makes a significant difference. Proper management can shorten their recovery time and, most importantly, protect their brain from long-lasting injuries.

At Michigan Avenue Primary Care, our primary care providers and sports medicine specialists have extensive experience evaluating, diagnosing, and managing recovery from a concussion.

Here, we recommend you take the five following steps in the first 24 hours after your athlete sustains a concussion:

1. Take your athlete out of the game

If there’s any chance your child has a concussion, it’s crucial to pull them from the game. Even if they don’t have symptoms, they should not return to physical activity.

A mild concussion without obvious symptoms still damages the brain. The nerves may be stretched and injured, and brain cells may be bruised. 

As a result, the brain is highly vulnerable and can easily sustain another injury. Another bump or concussion during this delicate stage can cause severe brain damage. 

2. Have your athlete rest 

Rest is essential for the brain to start healing. During the first 24 hours, limit brain stimulation by lowering lights and keeping your child away from electronics and loud music.

Contrary to the long-standing advice, it’s ok to let them sleep, and you don’t need to wake them. However, you should regularly check in on them. Following a concussion evaluation, we may ask you to wake them every few hours to watch for changing symptoms.

3. Don’t wait for symptoms

Don’t depend on symptoms to guide concussion management. Taking steps 1 and 2 is essential whether or not your child has any signs of a concussion. Why? Because symptoms may not appear for hours or days.

Athletes may think returning to their activity is safe if they feel fine. But the lack of symptoms does not mean the brain is healthy. Staying active is the worst step for managing a concussion. 

When symptoms appear, the most common include:

• Headache
• Confusion
• Dizziness
• Memory loss
• Nausea and vomiting
• Difficulty sleeping
• Irritability and anxiety
• Difficulty concentrating

You may notice that your child is slow to respond to questions, or they may not be able to remember what happened just before the concussion. 

4. Watch for new or worsening symptoms

During the first 24 hours (and the first few days), pay attention to new symptoms if they appear, or watch to see if existing symptoms worsen. These are signs your athlete needs medical care. 

You should also watch for red-flag symptoms. If your child has any of the following, they need immediate emergency attention:

• Headache that’s severe or worsens
• One pupil is larger than the other
• Double or blurry vision
• Convulsions or seizures
• Repeated nausea or vomiting
• Increasing confusion or agitation
• Unable to wake up
• Slurred speech,
• Decreased coordination
• Weakness or tingling in the arms or legs

 Most people don’t lose consciousness after a concussion, but if your athlete does in the first 24 hours, especially if they’re unconscious for more than one minute, you should take them to the emergency room. 

5. Schedule an evaluation

If your child took a blow to the head or sustained an impact anywhere on their body resulting in a whiplash injury, they should have a concussion evaluation.

An early assessment guides your child’s treatment, determining how long they should rest and when it’s safe to return to school and athletics.

The sooner they’re evaluated, the better. However, whether they need an evaluation in the first 24 hours depends on the severity of their symptoms.

Call the Michigan Avenue Primary Care office if you’re uncertain when to schedule the assessment. We can ask a few questions, help guide your decision, and ensure your athlete receives exceptional concussion care.