Concussion Management Practice Exam

Concussion is a functional disturbance from mechanical forces moving the brain inside the skull, not a structural injury that must show up on imaging. The brain can be jolted by rapid acceleration-deceleration or rotational forces, causing disruption of neural function and a cascade of metabolic changes. This means you don’t need a direct hit to the head to develop a concussion—the force can be transmitted through the body or come from a movement that makes the head whip or rotate. For example, a sudden stop or whiplash during a fall can trigger concussion symptoms even without a direct impact to the skull. So a direct blow is not required.