Most adults recover within about two weeks, and the large majority within a month. A minority have symptoms that persist longer, and when they do it is usually because of identifiable factors such as disrupted sleep, frequent painkiller use or an untreated vestibular problem rather than more severe brain injury.
Most adults recover within about two weeks, and the large majority within a month. A minority have symptoms that persist longer, and when they do it is usually because of identifiable factors such as disrupted sleep, frequent painkiller use or an untreated vestibular problem rather than more severe brain injury.
Symptoms are typically worst in the first few days and then improve steadily. Headache, fatigue, dizziness, sensitivity to light and noise, irritability and difficulty concentrating are the common set, and they tend to resolve in roughly that order, with cognitive symptoms and fatigue often outlasting the headache. Recovery is not perfectly linear: a bad day in the middle of an improving trend is normal and not a setback. What matters is the direction over a week or two rather than any single day.
Several factors are consistently associated with a slower course, and most are modifiable, which is the reason to identify them early. Disrupted sleep is the commonest and the most influential. Frequent use of acute painkillers can convert post-traumatic headache into a chronic daily pattern. Pre-existing migraine, anxiety or depression predicts a longer course. Neck injury sustained in the same incident contributes headache that is often attributed to the concussion. Vestibular symptoms persist without targeted rehabilitation. Returning to full activity too early, or resting too long, both prolong things.
The old instruction to rest in a dark room until symptoms cleared has been reversed by better evidence. A day or two of relative rest is sensible; beyond that, inactivity is associated with slower recovery and with more mood and sleep disturbance. The approach now is graded return to physical and cognitive activity, kept just below the level that clearly provokes symptoms, and increased as tolerance improves. Sub-symptom-threshold aerobic exercise has evidence for shortening recovery rather than merely being safe.
Symptoms continuing beyond about a month warrant a proper look, not because that implies structural damage but because it usually means one of the treatable drivers above is operating unaddressed. Assessment covers sleep, headache pattern and medication frequency, vestibular function, the neck, mood, and vision. Separately, any red flag needs urgent attention: a progressively worsening headache, new weakness or speech difficulty, a seizure, repeated vomiting, or increasing drowsiness. This practice provides no emergency care; those belong in an emergency department.
Clinical Neurology Specialists has been physician-owned since 1998, when Leo Germin, M.D., FAANEM founded it. Five board-certified neurologists and four advanced practice providers see patients at the Las Vegas and Henderson offices, each with its own AANEM-accredited electrodiagnostic laboratory.
Clinical Neurology Specialists is an adult outpatient neurology practice for patients 18 and older. The practice performs no surgery and operates no imaging suite, infusion suite or interventional pain programme, and provides no emergency or inpatient care.
Physician-reviewed. Reviewed by the physicians of Clinical Neurology Specialists — board-certified neurologists, AANEM-accredited electrodiagnostic laboratories, physician-owned since 1998. Reviewed 1 August 2026. This article is general education for adults 18 and older and is not a substitute for a consultation.
Sources and further reading: MedlinePlus: concussion; MedlinePlus: traumatic brain injury; National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Adults 18 and older, at the Las Vegas and Henderson offices. Call 702-804-1212 or request an appointment online.