What concussion is
A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury: a blow, a fall or a whiplash that moves the brain inside the skull. The word mild describes the injury, not always the aftermath. Most people settle over the first weeks. When headache, dizziness, fog, sensitivity to light and noise, a short fuse or broken sleep keep going, it is often called post-concussion syndrome, and scans are frequently normal. Your physician leads the medical side, and many people also see a vestibular or vision therapist.
Danger signs after a head injury
Call 911 for a headache that keeps getting worse, repeated vomiting, a seizure, slurred speech, weakness or numbness, one pupil larger than the other, or drowsiness and confusion that are deepening. Anyone on a blood thinner who hits their head should be checked the same day. Acupuncture has no place in that first assessment.
The neck carries the injury too
Whiplash forces strain the small muscles at the base of the skull, the long muscles at the front and side of the neck, and often the jaw. Those tissues can keep a headache or a woozy, off-balance feeling going on their own, and they are easy to miss when attention stays on the brain.
How we work with it
A visit usually combines scalp acupuncture in zones chosen for your symptoms (balance, vision, the crown of the head), body points for your pattern, and needling and hands-on release of the neck muscles with Active Release Techniques. While the needles are in, we may add simple eye-tracking, head-turn and balance drills from functional movement work, kept below your symptom threshold, and you take a few home. Herbs are added when the pattern calls for them.
Together we watch headache days, screen tolerance, sleep, and how long you can manage a busy shop before the fog returns.
Questions people ask
Can acupuncture help post-concussion syndrome?
Acupuncture is studied as supportive care for lingering concussion symptoms such as headache, dizziness and poor sleep, and research is ongoing. We work alongside your physician and any therapy you already have, and we track the symptoms that matter most to you rather than promising a recovery.
How soon after a concussion can I come in?
After a physician has seen you and ruled out a bleed or other injury that needs medical care. Some people come in the first weeks, others years later. Early visits are kept gentle and short.
Why do you work on my neck if the injury was to my head?
The same force that jolts the brain strains the muscles at the base of the skull and the front of the neck. Tight, tender muscles there can keep feeding headaches and dizziness, so they are treated as part of the plan.
Will the exercises make my symptoms worse?
They are kept below the level that sets symptoms off. If a drill brings on a headache or dizziness, we scale it back, and the homework you take away is set at that same easy level.
This is general wellness information, not medical advice.
