Exercise Intolerance After Concussion

Exercise intolerance after concussion is extremely common and EXTREMELY TREATABLE!

Why does exercise sometimes suck after concussion? What’s to blame?
1. Physiologic: My brain is not regulating heart rate, blood pressure and other things effectively. All of these things become more important to regulate as your workout becomes more intense. The worse the regulation, the worse I feel. Lightheaded, disconnected, dizzy, headachey, “pressure in my head” and “off” are all common symptom descriptions.
2. Vestibular exertion: I’m moving in ways (head movements, body movements, or both) that my vestibular system can’t keep up with.
3. Visual: gaze instability, accommodative insufficiency and convergence insufficiency add up to become a problem. Essentially, my eyes are unable to hold the world steady as I move (think running, burpees, jumping and other dynamic movements).
4. Cervical: If my neck is not up to the task of moving accurately and holding my head and eyes steady when I need it to, exercise will feel unsteady and off. This gets worse with dynamic and intense workouts, and specifically if I’m doing heavy upper body work like overhead press, Olympic weightlifting, gymnastics, pull-ups, and pushups.

Concussion physical therapy can get you back to your happy, healthy, exercising way of life!