What Happens After Your Child’s Ambulatory EEG Results Come Back
If your child has had an ambulatory EEG and you’re waiting on results or trying to make sense of them, we can help you understand what those results can show and what comes next.
Concussion Recovery in Kids: Why Rest isn’t the answer
A concussion is a brain injury caused by a knock, bump, or jolt to the head that causes the brain to move rapidly inside the skull. It can happen during a sports game, a fall from a bike, a collision on the playground, or any number of ordinary — or not so ordinary — childhood moments. Rest, limiting screen time, and physical activity are important in the early stages of concussion recovery, while the brain heals.
But for many children, rest isn’t the answer. Concussions can trigger complications that don’t resolve with rest. Persistent headaches, sleep disturbances, mood changes, memory and concentration problems, dizziness, and light sensitivity are all common in the weeks following a concussion.
Without the involvement of a specialist, these complications often go unmanaged, affecting a child’s school performance, mental health, and quality of life. Dr. Henry Hasson is a pediatric neurologist in Brooklyn, New York, who has the expertise to assess your child’s brain function after a concussion, identify any complications that rest hasn’t resolved, and put together a plan to address them.
Here, he covers the complications that can follow a concussion in children, when rest alone isn’t sufficient, and what proper specialist care looks like.
What happens to the brain during a concussion
A concussion disrupts the brain’s normal chemical and electrical activity. The impact causes a sudden release of chemicals in the brain that the body then has to work to rebalance, while blood flow to the brain temporarily changes and energy demands increase at exactly the time the brain is least able to meet them. The brain isn’t structurally damaged the way it would be in a more serious injury, but its ability to function normally is disrupted.
In children, the developing brain is more vulnerable to the effects of concussion than the adult brain, and it takes longer to recover. A child who returns to full activity physically or cognitively before the brain has properly healed is at higher risk of prolonged symptoms and, if they sustain another head injury before recovery is complete, significantly more serious consequences.
Post-concussion syndrome
Most children recover from a concussion within two to four weeks. When symptoms persist beyond that, it’s referred to as post-concussion syndrome. Persistent headaches are the most common symptom, but difficulty concentrating, memory problems, fatigue, dizziness, irritability, anxiety, and sleep disturbances can also occur in many children dealing with prolonged recovery.
Post-concussion syndrome affects somewhere between 15% and 30% of children who sustain a concussion, and its impact is significant. A child struggling with concentration and memory is going to fall behind at school. A child dealing with persistent headaches and disrupted sleep is going to be irritable, fatigued, and emotionally fragile.
Without a specialist identifying what’s happening and addressing it directly, these children often get labeled as struggling academically or behaviorally without anyone connecting it back to the head injury.
Complications that need targeted treatment
Headaches after a concussion can take different forms. Tension-type headaches, migraines, and headaches related to neck injury from the impact are all common, and each responds to different management. Treating them effectively requires identifying which type, not just managing pain generally.
Sleep disruption is both a symptom and a driver of prolonged recovery, since the brain does much of its repair during sleep. When sleep is fragmented or insufficient, recovery slows, which then worsens symptoms and further disrupts sleep. Breaking that cycle requires targeted intervention.
Vision problems, including difficulty tracking, focusing, and reading, are another common post-concussion complication that directly affects school performance and is frequently missed without a thorough assessment.
Mood and anxiety symptoms following a concussion are common. The neurological disruption itself can contribute to emotional dysregulation, and the experience of being unwell, falling behind, and not feeling like yourself for weeks on end adds a psychological factor.
What specialist care looks like
Dr. Hasson conducts a thorough neurological assessment that goes beyond the standard concussion screening, evaluating cognitive function, neurological signs, sleep, mood, and any specific symptoms your child may be experiencing. This assessment identifies any complications and what each one needs.
Rest can be a part of concussion recovery, but too much rest can make matters worse. Getting back to your daily activities as much as tolerated can help recondition the body and the brain. For many children, the complications that follow a concussion need direct, targeted care to resolve, and waiting for them to resolve on their own can mean months of unnecessary struggle.
Dr. Hasson is the right specialist to see after they have had a concussion. He assesses your child’s recovery thoroughly, identifies anything that isn’t resolving as it should, and provides the targeted care that gets them back to full health. Book a consultation online today or call 718-785-9828 to ensure that your child’s recovery is being properly managed.
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