You’ve just sustained a concussion, which is a mild traumatic brain injury. You might be wondering if you need a neurologist on your team, since neurologists diagnose and treat disorders of the brain. This is a great question, and one we get all the time.

In most cases, it is not necessary to see a neurologist following a concussion. A lot of our patients go to the ER to get checked out in the first few days, which is a very appropriate course of action. If there is no concern for brain bleed or need for surgery, they are typically told to follow-up with their primary care physician, or PCP. Ideally the PCP will give the patient some guidance for how to manage the symptoms during the acute phase and refer them to a concussion specialist. Getting care for your concussion early has been shown to decrease the risk of persistent post concussive syndrome.

What’s most important to your recovery, is having a medical professional on the case who has extensive knowledge of the typical and atypical courses of concussive injury, as well as the treatments available. Concussion management has dramatically evolved over the years, and it is important to understand that not all doctors, including neurologists, might be up to date. BEWARE of physicians who tell you to sit in a dark room for a week, or that there is nothing you can do but wait for your symptoms to go away. We now know that getting care within even as little as 36 hours post injury improves your chances of a shorter and faster recovery.