The concussion was weeks ago. Maybe months. The ER visit is a memory, the scans came back normal, and everyone around you assumes you are back to yourself. But you are not. The headaches keep coming. Screens are exhausting. You feel off balance in the grocery store, you lose your train of thought mid-sentence, and sleep does not fix the fatigue.
If that sounds familiar, you are not imagining it, and you are not alone. Lingering symptoms after a concussion are common enough to have a name: post-concussion syndrome. Understanding what keeps those symptoms going is the first step toward finding care that actually addresses them.
What Is a Concussion, Really?
A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury caused by a blow or jolt that makes the brain move rapidly inside the skull. That movement disrupts how brain cells communicate and creates a temporary energy crisis in brain tissue. It is a functional injury, which is why standard CT and MRI scans are usually normal even when symptoms are significant.
You do not have to lose consciousness to have a concussion. Most people do not. Car accidents, sports collisions, falls, and even hard bumps to the head in daily life can all cause one.
What Is Post-Concussion Syndrome?
Most concussions resolve on their own. Adults typically recover within about two weeks, and children and teens within about four weeks. When symptoms continue beyond that expected window, clinicians use terms like post-concussion syndrome or persisting post-concussive symptoms. Estimates vary, but a meaningful minority of people, often cited somewhere between 10 and 30 percent, still have symptoms well past the typical recovery period.
Common Symptoms of Post-Concussion Syndrome
- Headaches, often starting at the base of the skull or behind the eyes
- Dizziness, unsteadiness, or a feeling of being off balance
- Neck pain and stiffness
- Brain fog, slowed thinking, and trouble concentrating
- Sensitivity to light, noise, or busy visual environments
- Fatigue that does not improve with rest
- Sleep disruption
- Irritability, anxiety, or low mood
- Blurred vision or difficulty reading and using screens
Why Doesn’t It Always Go Away?
Post-concussion syndrome is rarely one problem. It is usually several systems that were disrupted by the same injury and never fully recovered. Each one can keep symptoms going on its own, and they tend to feed each other.
The Neck Was Injured Too
This is the most commonly overlooked factor. The force needed to cause a concussion is more than enough to strain the upper neck. The head is heavy, and when it whips forward, backward, or sideways, the joints and small muscles at the top of the cervical spine absorb much of that load. In practical terms, many concussions are also whiplash injuries.
The upper neck, particularly around the atlas (C1) and axis (C2), is densely packed with sensors that report head position to the brain. When that region is injured, it can produce headaches, dizziness, neck pain, and visual strain that look almost identical to brain-based concussion symptoms. If the neck is never evaluated, those symptoms can be mistaken for a brain that is simply slow to heal. We explore this overlap in Is Your Neck Causing Your Headaches and on our whiplash page.
The Balance System Is Out of Sync
Your brain keeps you oriented by blending information from your inner ear, your eyes, and your neck. A concussion can disrupt any of these, and an injured neck can feed inaccurate position data into the mix. The result is dizziness, motion sensitivity, and trouble in busy environments. Our article on cervicogenic vertigo vs. BPPV explains how neck-driven dizziness differs from inner ear causes.
The Eyes and Neck Are Not Coordinating
Reading, scrolling, and tracking moving objects depend on tight coordination between the eyes, neck, and brain. When that coordination is off, screens and reading become draining, and headaches follow. Many patients describe this as “my brain gets tired,” when the underlying problem is a coordination system working harder than it should.
The Nervous System Stays on High Alert
After a concussion, the autonomic nervous system, which regulates heart rate, blood pressure, and the stress response, can stay in a heightened state. That can contribute to exercise intolerance, poor sleep, anxiety, and fatigue. Ongoing pain and poor sleep then keep the system on alert, creating a cycle that is hard to break.
Rest Went On Too Long, or Not Long Enough
Current concussion guidance favors a brief period of relative rest followed by a gradual return to activity. Prolonged dark-room rest can slow recovery, while pushing too hard too soon can flare symptoms. Many patients were never given clear direction either way.
Why Your Scans Look Normal
CT and MRI are important for ruling out bleeding, skull fractures, and other structural emergencies. They are not designed to measure how well your neck reports head position, how your eyes and neck coordinate, or how your balance system integrates information. A normal scan rules out serious structural problems. It does not mean nothing is wrong. If you have been told your results are normal while you still feel terrible, Why Can’t Anyone Tell Me What’s Wrong With My Neck speaks directly to that experience.
A Note for Parents
Children and teens often take longer to recover from a concussion than adults, and they are not always able to describe what they feel. Watch for changes rather than complaints: falling grades, avoiding screens or reading, new irritability, trouble sleeping, frequent headaches, or pulling back from activities they used to enjoy.
Most students need a gradual return to learning before a return to sports, and a student athlete should never return to play while still symptomatic. A second impact before the brain has recovered carries real risk. If your child’s symptoms are lasting longer than expected, a thorough evaluation that includes the neck is worth pursuing. Our sports chiropractic page covers how we work with athletes.
When to Seek Emergency Care
Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room if, after a head injury, you or your child experience any of the following:
- A headache that gets worse and does not go away
- Repeated vomiting or nausea
- Slurred speech, weakness, numbness, or decreased coordination
- Seizures or convulsions
- One pupil larger than the other
- Increasing confusion, restlessness, or agitation
- Unusual drowsiness or inability to be awakened
- Loss of consciousness, even briefly
- In young children: inconsolable crying or refusal to nurse or eat
These signs can indicate a more serious brain injury and need immediate medical evaluation.
What Helps When Symptoms Linger
Because post-concussion syndrome usually involves more than one system, the most effective approach identifies which systems are involved and addresses each one. Depending on the person, that can include vestibular rehabilitation, vision therapy, guided exercise progression, sleep support, and care for the neck.
Research in sport-related concussion supports this. A randomized controlled trial published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in 2014 found that athletes with persistent symptoms who received combined neck and vestibular treatment were significantly more likely to be medically cleared to return to sport than those who received standard care alone. The neck is not the whole story, but for many patients it is a part that was never evaluated.
How We Evaluate Post-Concussion Patients at Keystone Chiropractic
Chiropractic care does not treat the brain injury itself. Our role is specific: determine whether the upper neck was injured along with the head and whether it is contributing to ongoing symptoms. To answer that objectively, we use three diagnostic tools together:
- CBCT cone beam CT scanning: 3D imaging of the upper cervical spine and craniocervical junction, showing the precise position and structure of the atlas and axis. Keystone Chiropractic is one of very few chiropractic practices in Central Illinois using CBCT.
- Infrared thermography: a noninvasive scan that identifies nervous system stress patterns along the spine.
- The NeckCare System: an FDA-listed functional assessment backed by over 20 years of peer-reviewed cervical spine research, capturing more than 120 positional data points per second. It includes three tests: Cervical Range of Motion, which measures precise degrees of movement in all six directions; the Joint Position Error Test, which measures how accurately you return your head to neutral with your eyes closed; and the Butterfly Test, which measures sensorimotor coordination between your neck, eyes, and nervous system.
The NeckCare System is particularly valuable for post-concussion patients. Position sense and eye-neck coordination are exactly the functions a concussion and its accompanying neck injury tend to disrupt, and standard exams cannot measure them. Your results are compared to normative data, so you can see where you stand rather than guess. Learn more on our NeckCare System page.
If the findings point to the upper neck, care follows the Blair upper cervical technique: no twisting, no cracking, and a gentle, low-force correction specific to your individual anatomy as shown on your CBCT images. After each adjustment, patients rest in a zero gravity chair for approximately 30 minutes to allow the correction to settle. Read more on our Blair upper cervical page and our concussion care page.
The aim is to correct a structural problem so your nervous system can work with accurate information again, not to promise a cure. If your evaluation suggests the neck is not a significant factor, you deserve to hear that plainly, along with where to turn next.
Post-concussion symptoms often fluctuate from week to week, which can make progress hard to judge. Objective retesting shows change even when symptoms are inconsistent. How We Track Your Progress explains how that works.
About Dr. Frederick Schurger
Dr. Frederick Schurger, DC, DCCJP, has practiced in Springfield since 2007. Before chiropractic, he earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, a background that shapes how he analyzes the forces involved in head and neck injuries. He earned his Doctor of Chiropractic from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 2006.
He holds the Diplomate in Chiropractic Craniocervical Junction Procedures (DCCJP), a three-year post-doctoral program involving approximately 300 hours of advanced coursework, original research, and a three-day board examination covering upper cervical anatomy, neuroscience, comparative upper cervical techniques, and craniocervical junction procedures. It is held by very few practitioners nationwide.
In 2011 he was named Blair Chiropractor of the Year. The award is selected annually by the President and senior board members of the Blair Chiropractic Members Association, is open to any member of the society, and recognizes outstanding contributions to promoting and advancing the Blair technique. He is also a Blair Advanced Instructor and has taught neurology and upper cervical anatomy at Logan University College of Chiropractic and to practitioners in the Gonstead organization. Read his full background on our About page.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is too long to still have concussion symptoms?
Most adults recover within about two weeks, and most children and teens within about four weeks. If symptoms are still affecting daily life beyond that window, they are considered persistent and deserve a thorough evaluation rather than more waiting.
Can post-concussion syndrome show up months after the injury?
Symptoms usually begin soon after the injury, though some people do not connect them to the concussion until later. Neck-related symptoms such as headaches at the base of the skull or dizziness with head movement can be overlooked at first and become more noticeable as normal activity resumes.
Why are my scans normal if I still feel terrible?
CT and MRI are designed to rule out bleeding, fractures, and structural brain injury. A concussion is a functional injury, and the problems that keep symptoms going, such as poor neck position sense or eye and balance coordination issues, do not show up on standard imaging.
Can a chiropractor help with post-concussion syndrome?
A chiropractor does not treat the brain injury itself. When the upper neck was injured along with the head, as often happens, upper cervical care addresses that structural component. For many patients that is one piece of a broader plan that may also include vestibular, vision, or other specialized care.
Is upper cervical care safe for my child after a concussion?
Blair upper cervical care uses no twisting and no cracking. Corrections are gentle, low-force, and specific to each patient’s anatomy as measured on 3D imaging. Any child with worsening symptoms or emergency warning signs needs immediate medical evaluation first. Our kids chiropractic page explains how we work with younger patients.
Get Answers About Your Lingering Symptoms
If you or your child are still struggling weeks or months after a concussion, and every test has come back normal, an evaluation that looks closely at the upper neck may provide answers that have been missing. Keystone Chiropractic is located at 450 S Durkin Drive, Ste B, in Springfield, IL, and sees patients from Chatham, Rochester, Sherman, Riverton, Taylorville, Jacksonville, Lincoln, and across Central Illinois. We are open Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9:00am to 6:00pm.
Call (217) 698-7900 or visit our New Patients page to schedule your consultation.