Headaches W/my 8 Yr Old

My son just had his second concussion within a year a few weeks ago. When talking to his doctor, she said that sometimes it does take a few months for all the symptoms to go away completely. Definitely do take him to a doctor quickly and insist upon more tests, a ct scan, etc, but don't panic about it either -- everything could still be perfectly normal.

Hi S.,

Running into a pole could qualify as a mild traumatic brain injury. It can also simply cause the sutures of the skull to push themselves into a misalignment that then affects the jaw--the temporal mandibular joint (TMJ). This is where all the nerves for the face go through, and a misalignment here can cause severe and ongoing headaches. My eldest daughter who is now almost 21 has had a chronic, very severe problem with this ever since having her tonsils and adenoids out when she was 12. (under general anesthesia, neck propped backwards, mouth propped open...took us over 2 years to find out that her jaw had become dislocated and severely misaligned.) She is now finally wearing braces, working with a TMJ specialist, and feeling better.
I had a head injury a year ago--fell over with my full weight (190 lbs) onto the back of my head while ice skating. Slammed the back of my head into the ice so hard I needed five staples to close the wound. Mild concussion.
Now, a year later, I started having dizzy spells after major exertion or pressure on that area.

What to do? First understand what may be going on. Basically, when we are in utero, our skull develops into several parts, and those parts slide over each other as we are born so they can fit through the narrow birth canal. The "soft spot" on top of a newborn's head is there because it takes awhile for the cartilage to turn into solid bone, but really, the "sutures" or seams between these parts never completely solidify but have an ever so slight ability to shift. There are small points all along the sutures, like gear teeth, to help hold them in place. A blow to the head can cause these to become misaligned.

I have personally been working with a chiropractor who does a very specific cranial technique that realigns these "teeth" in the sutures. And the dizziness stopped with the first treatment! My face looked different--a part that had slightly been sagging, apparently, became aligned again. Inside my head it feels like a "flatness" has been rounded back out again, giving room for my brain.

I think your son just might have had some level of cranial misalignment from his hit against a pole.

By the way, FIRST I saw a doctor, had an MRI, saw a neurologist, took various meds, etc. Not one of them was able to help.

You might try taking him to a pediatric chiropractor. Sounds like a huge trauma and I'm guessing there is probably spinal misalignment. My husband is actually a chiropractor in Mansfield. Dr. Todd would be more than happy to go over X-rays and examine your son.. We are in the process of moving and we have a special going on right now, first visit is on us! ###-###-####.

S.

I would take him back to the doctor. If you need to have his head scanned as there may be some blood up there pushing on things causing the headache. I say this because my husband had an issue andit almost cost him is life. Please don't fool aroound with this. Anytime a child or an adult has a headache that does not go away there is something more to it. If the doctor does not honor your wishes find another and pursue it until you are happy with the answers.

The other S.

Please have him checked again, not just the eyes but,
if possible, someone competent to ask questions
about neurological symptoms.
There could be some problems relating to the accident 4 months ago.
There could also be problems if the glasses aren't correct.

it could be compeletly unrelated but I would follow up with your doctor if nothing is found get his eyes checked.

A concussion does not show up on xrays, but the symptoms can linger for months. If the headaches persist check in with your pediatrician.

I recommend you call your GP or Pediatrician and ask for a referral to a Peds Neurologist. Headaches this far means that something else was injured, something that would not show up on an x-ray, like vascular trauma or abnormalities.

You should also try googling post-concussive symptoms and get a clear understanding of what else you should be concerned about.

There was a patient recently, who, wearing high heels, mis-stepped off the curb, fell backward and hit her head. She went to the ER, they x-rayed, found nothing, by night she was in a coma, within 2 days dead. She had ruptured an important artery in her neck.

So dont' stop asking and looking for answers....

take him back to the Doctor/ER/or Urgent Care office... TELL them this....

Or maybe it is not related.... or maybe his eyes... or it could be anything. He hit the pole FOUR months ago???/

I would take him to the Doctor... and explain.
Headaches, can be anything... in varying severity or reasons.
AND you said his complaints about headaches, occurred SINCE he hit the pole....

sounds like he had a concussion when he hit the pole. Children's Hopsital had a great article about kids and concussions recently. Get a referral and take your son to someone who knows about concussions and treatment for them. Good luck!