There is still a lot of conversation about the Tua Tagovailoa concussion. Most of us agree that he suffered a concussion on Sunday and that 4 days later he suffered an obvious concussion.  People are now using the term Second Impact Syndrome.  This is not Second Impact Syndrome where the patient receives a second blow while still recovering from a concussion.  Second Impact Syndrome is very rare and results in typically catastrophic consequences secondary to brain swelling.

We did publish research on this topic in 2017 which better explains this situation. https://comprehensivesportsmed.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Overlapping-Concussion-Syndrome_-Defined-in-a-Pediatric-Population.pdf

We defined this as Overlapping Concussion Syndrome.  Once again, the patient is in varying stages of recovery from a concussion when they suffer another blow resulting in worsened symptoms.  There is no brain swelling but we did note the recovery is significantly longer.  This is likely the case in Tua’s injury. Once again wishing him the best with a complete recovery.