Concussion Care
Expert concussion care from the first day through full recovery.
Fast, thorough, and personally guided — from acute evaluation through post-concussive recovery.
What is a concussion?
A concussion is a brain injury — even when imaging looks normal.
It happens when a sudden force to the head — or to the body and transmitted to the brain — disrupts how the brain functions. You don't have to lose consciousness, and a clear CT scan doesn't mean your brain escaped injury. What imaging misses is the metabolic disruption happening at the cellular level.
Concussions affect how the brain works, not how it looks.
The injury temporarily impairs the brain's ability to regulate energy, process signals efficiently, and manage the systems that make you feel like yourself. That's why the symptoms — headaches, brain fog, light sensitivity, mood changes, and fatigue — can be so wide-ranging and unpredictable.
Most people recover fully within two to four weeks with proper guidance.
Recovery isn't just rest — it's structured, evidence-based management calibrated to what your brain actually needs at each stage. The sooner you get an accurate assessment, the better your odds of a smooth recovery. Being evaluated by a specialist within the first week is one of the strongest predictors of a rapid recovery.
Some people take longer — and there are usually clear reasons why.
Because concussions are an energetic injury to the brain, people whose brains require more energy to manage school, thinking, movement, and mental health tend to have the longest recoveries. A history of migraine, ADHD (whether treated or not), motion sickness, prior concussions, or anxiety and depression is often associated with a more prolonged course.
Effective concussion care is comprehensive care.
Brain Body Health Alliance was built to provide that kind of care from the first visit. We understand the injury, the individual factors that shape recovery, and the neurologic, musculoskeletal, and mental health variables that can complicate it — and we build a personalized, proactive plan to address all of them.
Symptoms at a glance
Cognitive
- Brain fog and slowed thinking
- Trouble concentrating or remembering
- Difficulty with reading or screens
- Feeling mentally overwhelmed by tasks
Physical
- Headache or head pressure
- Dizziness or balance problems
- Light and noise sensitivity
- Fatigue out of proportion to activity
Sleep
- Sleeping far more than usual
- Difficulty falling or staying asleep
- Waking unrefreshed
- Daytime fatigue despite adequate rest
Emotional
- Irritability or emotional sensitivity
- Low mood or anxiety
- Feeling disconnected or unlike yourself
- Reactions that feel disproportionate
Concussion services
Acute Concussion Package
Concussion evaluation, education, and follow-up within the first month of an injury
- Comprehensive concussion evaluation, including assessment for risk factors that may prolong recovery
- Individualized return-to-activity and return-to-learn protocol
- School or workplace accommodation documentation, including homebound instruction certification when indicated
- Tailored medication and supplement plan to support recovery
- Follow-up visit 1–3 weeks later to assess recovery and determine next steps. Most patients are progressing well by this point — those who aren’t can have fees apply to enrollment in our post-concussive specialty program
$600
New patient evaluation (60 minutes) + follow-up visit (20 minutes)
Direct pay with Superbill provided — no referral or insurance required
School & work accommodations
For students and professionals, a concussion doesn't just mean missed practice — it means cognitive demands that directly conflict with what a healing brain can handle. Reading, screens, testing environments, open-plan offices, fluorescent lighting: these are exactly the stressors the injured brain struggles with most. Returning too fast, without accommodations, prolongs recovery.
We understand how academic disability services and workplace accommodation systems work — and we provide documentation that gets results.
Return To Learn and Return To Play follow separate timelines — and that's intentional. Your child must be ready for the classroom before they're ready for the field. We'll guide both processes simultaneously and keep you informed at every step.
Return to Learn
Before diving into the steps — a reassurance: this protocol moves faster than most parents expect. The goal is a thoughtful, supported return to school; not an extended absence. Prolonged absence is associated with prolonged recoveries.
Brief rest. 24 to 48 hours of reduced cognitive and physical activity. This is not a dark room — it means keeping the brain quiet, limiting screens, and avoiding schoolwork. Fresh air and light, stress-reducing outdoor walks with sunglasses.
Partial return to school. Most students return within 2 to 3 days of injury. The initial goal is not to catch up on missed work — it's to confirm the school environment is tolerable and to stay in the habit of school. Starting with 1 to 2 classes per day, with access to rest breaks, is appropriate even if some symptoms remain.
Increasing class load with accommodations. As tolerance improves, class time increases. Accommodations — screen modifications, reduced workload, extended time, quiet environments — remain active during this phase to prevent symptom spikes.
Full attendance with accommodations. Full school days with supports in place. High-stakes testing and heavy cognitive demands are still modified. This phase can be brief if recovery is progressing well.
Full return without restrictions. Accommodations are stepped down and cleared by Dr. Windsor. This is documented in writing to teachers, the school nurse, and the guidance counselor.
How BBHA supports your child's return to learning
Documentation letters addressed to the school with specific, actionable accommodation language.
If needed, a physician certification letter for intermittent homebound instruction written promptly so the school can activate the accommodation without delay. We specify whether full-time or intermittent homebound is appropriate based on the situation.
A clear estimated return timeline and step-up criteria in the letter, so the school knows when to expect the student to increase attendance rather than treating homebound as open-ended.
Teacher and nurse communication letter noting specific modifications — screen limits, no high-stakes testing, permission to rest — for the classes your child is attending. For preferred schools, we can discuss directly with the school upon request.
Guidance for parents on how to advocate within the school system — who to contact, what to ask for, and what your child's school is obligated to provide
If symptoms persist beyond 4 - 6 weeks, we help transition to a more comprehensive approach with pro-active neurocognitive testing, therapies, headache/focus medications and supplements, and formal academic accommodation plan appropriate for longer recovery.
Return to Play
Two principles govern this entire process of a diagnosed concussion (not applying to a concussion that was only suspected).
Your child must be symptom-free at each step before advancing. If symptoms return, drop back one step for at least 24 hours before trying again.
Return to school comes first. Your child should be back at school and making progress during the school day before advancing beyond step 2 below.
South Carolina law requires written medical clearance from a physician (MD or DO) before a student-athlete removed from sport may return to contact play.
Brief rest (24–48 hours), then early light activity. This rest phase is intentionally short — prolonged rest can slow recovery. As soon as the rest window closes, gentle outdoor movement begins — engaging in calm, low-stimulation activities with fresh air, and sunglasses if light is bothersome. This isn't just "allowed" activity; light aerobic movement with fresh air during this time actively supports recovery.
Graded aerobic activity. Light, sustained effort at an easy pace — the intensity you could comfortably hold for an hour — starting around five minutes and building as tolerated. We progress deliberately: from one short bout to two and longer continuous activity, watching that symptoms don't flare.
Sport-specific skills. Individual, non-contact skill work specific to your child's sport — running routes, agility drills and footwork, ball handling. No contact, collisions, or head-impact activity. This is ideally under the monitoring of an athletic trainer or coach.
Full non-contact training. Higher-intensity, full-effort team training without contact. Resistance and weight training may resume here.
Full-contact practice. Only after written medical clearance from a physician.
Return to competition. Cleared for games, matches, and full competitive play.
How BBHA supports your child's return to play
An approach consistent with the South Carolina REAP and CDC framework — the same standards your child's school and athletic trainers use.
An emphasis on early, guided activity rather than prolonged rest, based on evidence that gentle sub-threshold movement in the first week supports recovery.
Evaluation for additional musculoskeletal injuries that may impact performance.
Written medical clearance for return to contact play, satisfying South Carolina's physician-clearance requirement and accepted by school athletic departments, club organizations, and recreational leagues
Clearance based on clinical assessment of where your child actually is — not a fixed number of days on a calendar
For preferred schools, coordination with athletic trainers, coaches, and athletic directors is available on request
For athletes who aren't progressing as expected, a clear path into structured post-concussive care
Structured Recovery when symptoms persist
The Post-Concussion Recovery Program
When symptoms last beyond four weeks, recovery needs a coordinated plan — not another single appointment. Explore the areas we treat, and how the program unfolds over time.
Post-concussive syndrome (PCS) is the persistence of concussion symptoms beyond the expected recovery window — typically four to six weeks. It affects roughly 15–30% of people who sustain a concussion and can include headaches, cognitive difficulty, fatigue, dizziness, sleep disruption, anxiety, and mood changes that meaningfully limit daily function.
PCS isn't a single condition — it's a constellation of overlapping issues that involve multiple neurological, musculoskeletal, autonomic, and hormonal systems. That's why a subspecialty approach that looks at the whole picture, rather than treating each symptom in isolation, tends to work when everything else hasn't.
Our Post-Concussion Recovery Program is for anyone whose concussion symptoms have persisted beyond four to six weeks — or have significantly disrupted their ability to function at school, work, or in daily life.
Your individualized plan may include
A validated, computerized assessment of memory, attention, processing speed, reaction time, and executive function, paired with standardized mental-health questionnaires. We test three times across the program — at the start, at month three, and at completion — so recovery is measured with objective data, not just how symptoms feel day to day. This isn't a replacement for comprehensive neuropsychological testing, but it's a proven, efficient way to guide and track concussion recovery, and it supports documentation for school, work, and return-to-activity decisions.
Post-traumatic headache is among the most common persistent symptoms after concussion. Dr. Windsor is board-certified in Headache Medicine and builds an individualized plan — preventive and as-needed medications and supplements, lifestyle management, and in-office procedures when they're the right tool.
Persistent symptoms often involve the neck, the vestibular (balance) system, and the nervous system's ability to regulate energy. Kelly Prater, OT, provides sensory and nervous-system regulation, energy pacing, executive-function support, guided aerobic recovery, and hands-on head and neck therapy. When a patient needs more, we draw on our referral network of skilled concussion therapists — all coordinated directly with your medical care.
When headache or neck pain is driven by specific nerves or muscles, targeted procedures can offer real relief — nerve blocks, trigger point injections and prolotherapy, cupping, and dry needling, chosen to fit the source of your pain. For active program patients, these procedure professional fees are included at no additional charge.
Sleep is when the brain does much of its repair, and disrupted sleep is both a symptom of concussion and an obstacle to recovering from it. We assess and treat the sleep problems that commonly follow injury, so the rest of the recovery plan has a foundation to work from.
ADHD — diagnosed or not — is one of the strongest predictors of prolonged concussion recovery, and a concussion can unmask or worsen attention difficulties. Beyond measuring cognition, we actively evaluate and treat ADHD as part of recovery, because removing this underlying barrier is often what allows the rest of the plan to work.
What the program looks like
A time-limited, five-month plan
Every plan is individualized — not every patient needs every treatment above. We build the plan around what your recovery actually requires. Full program details, what's included, and enrollment are on our Pricing & Programs page.
See the Post-Concussion Recovery Program →If you enroll within 30 days of an Acute Concussion Package, your $600 package fee applies toward program enrollment.
Concussion FAQ
-
No. A concussion is a change in how the brain functions, not something a standard CT or MRI can show. Imaging is used to rule out serious injuries like bleeding — but a clear scan doesn't rule out a concussion. The symptoms are what tell the real story: headaches, brain fog, light sensitivity, fatigue, and mood changes.
-
Usually within days. This matters: being evaluated within the first week is one of the strongest predictors of a faster, smoother recovery. We built the practice specifically to avoid the weeks-long waits common in larger health systems. Call or text 864-214-6766 and we'll get you scheduled.
-
We're a direct-pay practice. We work for you, not the insurance company. We don't bill insurance, and no referral is needed. We provide a Superbill that you can submit to your insurer for possible out-of-network reimbursement or for FSA/HSA accounts.
This model lets us spend more time with your child and move faster than insurance-based care usually allows.
-
We care for children, teens, and young adults. Every plan is tailored to the patient's age, activities, and individual risk factors — a middle-schooler, a high-school athlete, and a college student each need a different approach.
-
School comes first. Most kids are back in the classroom within a few days, with accommodations, because prolonged absence can actually slow recovery. Return to sport is a separate, more gradual process and, under South Carolina law, requires written medical clearance from a physician before contact play. We guide both and provide the documentation schools and teams need.
-
Most concussions resolve within a few weeks. When symptoms last beyond about four weeks, we transition into our structured Post-Concussion Recovery Program — a coordinated plan addressing headache, sleep, cognition, therapy, and the other factors that can stall recovery. You won't be left to wait it out alone.