How fast you see a concussion specialist may determine how quickly you recover from a mild traumatic brain injury.

A trend emerging in the concussion literature is this: The faster you get in to see a concussion-literate doctor, the more likely it is that you will have a timely recovery. 

For example, in a 115 person pediatric study, kids who saw their doctor within four days of their injury recovered in about 20 days. However, kids who saw their doctor within eight days recovered in about 77 days. That's a two-month longer recovery for a four-day delay in seeking care. 

Another study with 341 children and adolescents tried to look at more broad timelines: early, middle, and late evaluation. The folks who were evaluated early (<14 days from injury) recovered about 110 days sooner than folks who were evaluated late (>28 days from injury). That's almost four months different for visiting a doctor in four weeks vs. less than two weeks. 

Now, it's not as simple as seeing your family doctor and resting until your symptoms go away. Strict rest is being shown to worsen and prolong symptoms. Additionally, the majority of doctors are not properly trained in concussion evaluation and management. That said, it doesn't have to be complicated either. A concussion-literate doctor will be able to properly evaluate you and get you started on an active recovery plan. Evaluation and management earlier rather than later can get you on the path to the expected 3-4 week recovery. 

Summary

• Seeking a concussion specialist within two weeks of your injury makes a one-month recovery more likely. 

• Seeking a concussion specialist after four weeks (or seeking no care at all) makes a multi-month recovery more likely. 

Dr. Mark Heisig is a licensed naturopathic doctor with continuing mTBI education from The American Academy of Neurology (AAN), Complete Concussion. Management (CCMI) and The Carrick Institute. His office is located in Scottsdale, AZ.