Interdisciplinary Care for Persistent Post-Concussion Symptoms in a Teen Football Player
Updated: Oct 20
A concussion does not always end when the scoreboard goes dark. For some young athletes, symptoms linger for months, affecting school, sleep, sports, mood, and family life.
That was the problem described in a case report by Thomas Bloink, DC, and Charles Blum, DC, involving a 15-year-old football player with persistent post-concussion symptoms after repeated impacts during a high school game. Six months later, he still had headaches, light sensitivity, and sound sensitivity. Rest, observation, and medication had not resolved the problem.
The report is not proof that one approach works for every teen with concussion symptoms. It is a useful example of something more specific: complex post-concussion cases may need coordinated care across more than one discipline.
The case centered on symptoms that would not resolve
The patient was a 15-year-old male who had sustained a concussion during a high school football game. He described multiple impacts to his body and head. By the time he presented for care, six months had passed.
His main symptoms included:
Unremitting headaches
Photophobia, or sensitivity to light
Hyperacusis, or sensitivity to sound
These symptoms can be deeply disruptive. A teen with light sensitivity may struggle in classrooms, under fluorescent lighting, or while using screens. Sound sensitivity can make cafeterias, gyms, buses, and crowded hallways difficult. Constant headaches can affect focus, sleep, and emotional resilience.
The case also reflects a common frustration in concussion recovery. Many patients are initially told to rest and wait. That can be appropriate early on, especially when symptoms are new and the brain needs time to recover. Yet when symptoms continue for months, the care plan often needs to become more specific.
This post is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice. Any suspected concussion, worsening symptoms, or return-to-play decision should be handled by qualified health professionals.
The care team looked beyond the brain alone
Concussion is often described as a brain injury, and that is accurate. But the effects of head trauma do not always stay neatly inside one category.
A football collision can affect the neck, jaw, eyes, balance system, and nervous system at the same time. That does not mean every symptom has the same cause. It means a careful evaluation may need to ask several questions at once.
In this case report, the chiropractic portion of care included:
Sacro-occipital technique prone block placement, described as category one
Adjustments to the cervical and thoracic spine
Cranial and temporomandibular joint, or TMJ, related care
The patient was also referred to other providers. A functional optometrist provided vision exercises. A dentist helped address TMJ occlusion and condylar function using a mandibular appliance. The appliance was modified immediately after each chiropractic visit.
That sequencing is one of the more notable parts of the report. The care was not presented as a set of isolated treatments. The providers adjusted their work in relation to each other.
Why the jaw, neck, and eyes may matter after concussion
The case report does not claim that the jaw, neck, or eyes caused all of the teen’s symptoms. It suggests that these systems may have been involved in his ongoing condition.
That idea is clinically plausible. After a collision, the neck may experience strain from rapid acceleration and deceleration. The jaw can absorb force or change how it moves if the head and neck mechanics change. The visual system may also struggle after concussion, especially with tracking, focusing, or tolerating visual input.
When these systems are irritated, they can overlap with symptoms commonly blamed only on concussion:
Area involved | Possible symptom overlap |
Neck | Headache, dizziness, pain with movement |
Jaw and TMJ | Headache, facial tension, bite discomfort |
Vision system | Light sensitivity, eye strain, trouble reading |
Auditory sensitivity | Sound intolerance, fatigue in noisy places |
This overlap is one reason persistent symptoms can be hard to untangle. A teen may say, “I still have a headache,” but the driver of that headache may not be simple. It may involve more than one body system.
That is where interdisciplinary care can be useful. A chiropractor, optometrist, dentist, physician, physical therapist, athletic trainer, or other clinician may each see a different part of the same recovery puzzle.
The reported progress was gradual and substantial
The outcome in the case report was notable.
After one month of care, the patient’s symptoms were reported to be 80% improved. At two months, symptoms were reported to be 95% improved. By the six-month mark, he had returned to football and full activities.
Those are meaningful changes for a teen who had been symptomatic for six months before starting this approach.
Still, this is where careful interpretation matters. A case report describes what happened to one patient. It cannot prove that the same plan will work for another athlete. It does not compare the intervention with a control group. It cannot rule out all other factors that may have contributed to recovery.
What it can do is raise useful clinical questions.
For example:
Which teens with persistent symptoms might benefit from jaw, neck, cranial, or visual assessment?
When should care expand beyond rest and medication?
How should providers coordinate adjustments, vision therapy, and dental appliances?
What safety checks should guide return to sport?
The authors themselves called for more research to identify which pediatric patients with head trauma might respond to this type of care model.
The bigger lesson is coordinated assessment
The strongest takeaway from this case is not that every teen with post-concussion symptoms needs the same treatment. The stronger lesson is that persistent symptoms deserve a broad, thoughtful evaluation.
When a young athlete remains symptomatic months after a concussion, care should not stop at “wait longer.” The next step may involve asking better questions:
Is the neck contributing to the headaches?
Are the eyes working well together during reading and tracking?
Is the jaw moving evenly?
Are light and sound sensitivity linked to a treatable pattern?
Has the athlete been cleared through an appropriate return-to-play process?
Parents, coaches, and athletes should also watch for red flags. Worsening headache, repeated vomiting, confusion, weakness, seizures, slurred speech, or unusual behavior should be treated as urgent and evaluated right away.
For non-emergency symptoms that persist, the path forward may require a team. This case report offers a careful example of Interdisciplinary Care for Persistent Post-Concussion Symptoms in a Teen Football Player, with chiropractic, cranial, dental, and optometric elements working together.
The practical message is simple: when concussion symptoms linger, look beyond a single explanation. A coordinated plan may reveal treatable pieces that one provider, working alone, could miss.
Interdisciplinary care of a 15 year old male patient suffering from unresolving post- concussion syndrome symptoms secondary to high school American football trauma: a case report.Thomas Bloink, DC, Charles Blum, DC
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