Addressing the Blind Spot: Clare’s Post-Concussion Recovery Story
When a Head Injury Changes Everything
I realised I had a long journey ahead."
Just because a brain injury isn’t immediately obvious, doesn’t mean its impact isn’t long-lasting and significant.
Clare’s journey through post-concussion syndrome recovery, a form of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), highlights how far the UK still has to go in recognising post-concussion symptoms and supporting effective concussion recovery.
The Initial Fall
In June 2023, Clare fainted and fell headfirst down a set of steps in a restaurant.
Unaware that she had been unconscious for around five minutes, she declined an ambulance and was helped home by her colleague. She was bruised and battered but initially thought she was otherwise okay.
The following day, her GP referred her for cardiology testing to try to determine the cause of fainting, but no mention was made of concussion or brain injury.
What started as a head bump after a fall escalated. Over the coming weeks, Clare began experiencing a range of symptoms: crushing fatigue, headaches, dizziness, and sensitivity to light and noise.
She became unable to tolerate screens, read, or drive, and at times climbed the stairs on all fours. She experienced spells of vertigo, struggled with cognitive tasks, and felt unable to think clearly.
The Impact on Daily Life
Not only that, but she could no longer run her business as a consultant and trainer for social enterprises and charities. Even cooking a simple meal felt overwhelming.
She suffered with cognitive problems after brain injury: she struggled to make decisions, remember things, or hold two thoughts in her head at the same time. The person who had once been efficient and reliable now struggled to get through basic daily tasks. Life came to a halt.
After six weeks, her own GP, along with the cardiologist, suggested medication to increase her blood pressure, but again concussion was not on the radar.
Clare thought it could be the start of some kind of chronic fatigue, or that it would lift and she would recover within a few months at most.
Luckily, Clare received incredible family support after brain injury from her husband and three children—aged 14, 12, and 9—and family and friends rallied around.
Discovering Post-Concussion Syndrome Symptoms
Ten weeks after the head injury, with the help of “Dr Google”, Clare came across post-concussion syndrome.
I could tick off every single symptom on the list – I was elated that I’d discovered what was wrong with me. Twenty-four hours later, the fear kicked in. I realised I had a long journey ahead."
So began the journey, desperately trying to find out what she needed to do to get better.
Fortunate to have private healthcare, Clare saw a neurologist and began exploring post-concussion syndrome treatment, including vestibular testing and physiotherapy, which began almost five months after the injury.
Had this rehabilitation started within days or weeks of the head injury, the trajectory of her recovery may have looked very different.
12 weeks after the fall, Clare underwent an MRI scan which, as expected, was clear. Post-concussion symptoms are functional rather than structural, meaning they are not typically visible on a scan.
After 10 months of gradual progress—because we all know that recovery is never linear—Clare experienced a relapse in symptoms and was referred to a concussion physiotherapist at the Institute of Sport, Exercise & Health in London.
Through a graded return-to-exercise programme, she finally began to turn a corner in her recovery from mTBI.
Making Steps Towards Post-Concussion Syndrome Recovery
A concussion impacts multiple systems within the body and, as Clare discovered, post-concussion syndrome recovery requires a whole-body approach to gradually restore function over time.
Progress was gradual and confusing. Some days, simply going for a walk or spending an hour in a café was enough to reach maximum capacity; other days, she’d feel normal again.
Small increases in activity had to be carefully managed, balancing physical, cognitive, and sensory load while learning how to calm an over-sensitive nervous system. Clare describes it as like walking a daily tightrope between doing too much and crashing, with doing too little fuelling the fatigue.
Clare spent countless hours researching and listening to podcasts from experts in the US and Canada to get more of an idea of what the condition was, the long-term effects of concussion, and any other information.
There’s almost nothing about post-concussion here in the UK. So many people are confused, lost, and not getting the help they need to recover. I knew I wanted to change that."
Why the UK Still Has a Post-Concussion Blind Spot
Clare discovered a widespread lack of understanding and awareness around post-concussion syndrome recovery. Many people are simply told to rest and advised that they may or may not improve.
She describes post-concussion syndrome as a major “blind spot” in the UK, with people experiencing debilitating symptoms for months and even years unnecessarily. It can be an incredibly difficult path to navigate alone.
Clare says many of her clients have been told their symptoms are “just anxiety, depression, perimenopause or stress”, leaving them feeling as though they are imagining things or losing their mind. After all, it can often manifest as an invisible injury.
Limited Access to Post-Concussion Syndrome Treatment
Rehabilitation is not generally available on the NHS, meaning many people fall into a gap with little support, information, or hope for recovery from TBI. Migraine medication is often all that someone is offered, with varying degrees of success.
Clare says it’s a kind of ‘wait and see’ approach, which concussion experts recognise is the opposite of what is needed.
Concussion Extending Beyond Sport
Concussion is now taken seriously in sport, which is what many people associate it with. However, more than 90% of concussions (a type of mTBI) are not sport related.
Common causes include:
- Falls
- Car or cycling accidents
- Everyday household incidents e.g. involving low door frames and kitchen cupboard doors
Contrary to popular belief, only around 10% of concussions involve a loss of consciousness, and symptoms may not appear until hours or even days later. Around half of concussion symptoms resolve within four weeks.
Post-concussion syndrome is generally recognised after this point, by which time what initially seemed like a relatively minor accident can feel “too minor” to explain such significant ongoing symptoms.
The Challenge of Invisible Symptoms
Added to this is the fact that, as many people hear repeatedly, “you look fine”. Post-concussion symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, and dizziness make the condition the archetypal invisible disability.
Although awareness and treatment of long-term concussion have improved massively within sport, many people outside those environments still struggle to access clear information, rehabilitation pathways, or timely support.
Clare believes this lack of understanding leaves thousands of people navigating recovery from concussion alone, often without recognising that recovery after brain injury is even possible.
Post-Concussion Syndrome Recovery
Over the next two and a half years, Clare’s research shaped her understanding of a whole-person approach to post-concussion symptom treatment.
She firmly believes recovery is possible, regardless of how long the symptoms have continued, thanks to neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to restore and reorganise function—alongside the body’s innate capacity to rebalance affected systems once it has the right support.
Her own post-concussion recovery has focused on nutrition, daily exercise, mindset work, and applying neuroscience principles to healing.
Having previously been a keen participant at Parkrun, Clare completed her first Parkrun 15 months after her head injury, crossing the finish line sobbing with tears of joy.
She will now be joining the annual ISEH (Institute of Sport, Exercise & Health) run in Regent’s Park, London, for her first ever 10k event and has signed up for a half-marathon later this year – something she last completed 25 years ago.
Turning Experience into Purpose
Learning about whole-person approaches to health, alongside practical nutrition and lifestyle principles to support brain health, proved transformative, so as part of her ongoing learning journey, Clare became a certified health coach.
Gaining this qualification, in such difficult circumstances, felt like a massive achievement."
Clare now supports others in their post-concussion syndrome recovery through online 1:1 and group coaching sessions, helping her clients create a personalised recovery strategy with daily structure, accountability, and ongoing support.
Her approach includes nervous system regulation, pain reprocessing techniques for headaches, practical nutrition support, and a gradual return to exercise.
She emphasises the importance of being in the driving seat of recovery – embracing each day with clarity, direction, and purpose, in contrast to the lostness of the ‘wait and see’ approach.
Finding Meaning Through Adversity
Clare is passionate about what she calls “the gift wrapped in suffering” – transforming an incredibly difficult experience into something meaningful.
She says she now “does life differently” and supports people not simply to return to who they were before a mild traumatic brain injury, but to build on the experience by moving towards whom they want to become in their recovery from concussion.
Her message to others experiencing post-concussive symptoms is simple: recovery can take time, but with the right support, understanding, and approach, hope and progress are possible. And you don’t have to do it alone.
If you or someone you care for may be experiencing delayed concussion symptoms, visit thebrainhealthcoach.co.uk for more information.
Related News & Articles
