A Top Sports Doctor's Urgent Warning About Youth Concussions

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As a pediatric ophthalmologist and mom of three active kids, I spend a lot of time thinking about injuries that don't always look like injuries.

A broken arm is obvious.

A swollen ankle gets attention.

But a concussion?

A concussion can be invisible.

The child looks fine. The CT scan is normal. Their vision tests 20/20. They might even tell you they're okay.

Yet something isn't right.

They're exhausted. Their grades start slipping. Reading feels harder. They can't focus. They're irritable. They complain of headaches. They lose confidence in sports they used to love.

And sometimes, nobody connects the dots.

In this episode of In Focus: Vision, Clarity and Eye Health for the Whole Family, I sat down with sports medicine physician and concussion expert Dr. Jennifer King to discuss what every parent needs to know about concussions, youth sports, vision symptoms, and why recovery is about far more than simply "resting."

What surprised me most was how many things we thought we knew about concussions are simply wrong.

The Little Cheerleader I'll Never Forget

Dr. King has a unique background.

Before becoming a sports medicine physician, she was an NFL cheerleader for the Philadelphia Eagles while attending medical school. Today, she serves as Medical Director of the Concussion Clinic at Kapi'olani Medical Center and helped author the American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement on cheerleading injuries.

But it was one moment years ago that stayed with her.

While judging a youth cheerleading competition, she watched a tiny flyer perform a stunt, fall, and land on her head.

Afterward, her mother casually mentioned that this might have been her daughter's ninth concussion.

Ninth.

The child wasn't even nine years old.

For Dr. King, that moment raised an unsettling question:

How many injuries are we accepting as normal that shouldn't be?

And what are we missing when it comes to prevention and recovery?

What Actually Happens During a Concussion?

One of the biggest misconceptions parents have is that a concussion only happens when someone gets hit directly in the head.

Not true.

You can sustain a concussion without ever making head contact.

A hard body collision. A sudden fall. A whiplash injury during a car accident. Even the rapid acceleration and deceleration of the brain inside the skull can be enough to trigger a concussion.

As Dr. King explains, a concussion is less about structural damage and more about a temporary disruption in how the brain functions.

The brain's communication systems become altered.

Its energy demands increase.

And suddenly, tasks that once felt effortless become surprisingly difficult.

That's why a child may look completely normal but still struggle with reading, concentration, memory, or emotional regulation.

Why Vision Problems Are Often the First Clue

This was the part of the conversation that hit especially close to home.

Many of the patients I see after a concussion come to me with a frustrating complaint: "My eyes feel weird."

Their vision may still measure 20/20. Their eye exam may be completely normal. There are no retinal injuries. No optic nerve damage. No structural abnormalities.

Yet they know something feels off. They're losing their place while reading. Words seem harder to track across the page. They develop headaches when switching focus from the classroom board to their notebook.

Sports become more difficult because they struggle to follow moving objects.

As Dr. King pointed out, the problem isn't always with the eyes themselves. It's often with how the brain is processing visual information. A child can have perfectly healthy eyes while simultaneously experiencing significant visual dysfunction after a concussion.

For students, these symptoms often appear in the classroom before they show up anywhere else. And that's why academic struggles can be one of the most important warning signs.

The Symptom Parents Often Miss

Headaches get attention.

Dizziness gets attention.

Vomiting gets attention.

But academic decline often doesn't.

Dr. King described school nurses who have become experts at recognizing subtle concussion symptoms because they notice a pattern:

A student who normally performs well suddenly struggles. Reading takes longer. Assignments become frustrating. Fatigue increases. Concentration drops.

The child starts complaining that school feels harder.

Sometimes those changes are the biggest clue that a concussion occurred days earlier.

In fact, some athletes experience what sports medicine physicians call "Monday Morning Concussions."

They feel fine over the weekend while resting. Then Monday arrives, school starts, the brain is suddenly asked to perform and the symptoms finally reveal themselves.

The Recovery Mistake We Used to Make

For years, concussion treatment centered around one primary strategy:

Put the child in a dark room and wait.

No screens.

No exercise.

No activity.

Minimal stimulation.

Today, experts know that approach can actually slow recovery.

Dr. King describes this as "cocoon therapy"—and it's often the hardest group of patients to help.

When kids completely shut down their visual system, social interactions, and physical activity, they can become isolated, anxious, and even more symptomatic.

Instead, modern concussion management emphasizes gradual re-engagement.

Movement matters.

Social interaction matters.

School accommodations matter.

And recovery isn't about avoiding life.

It's about carefully rebuilding participation in life.

Sleep Might Be the Most Powerful Prevention Tool We Have

If there was one theme that came up repeatedly during our conversation, it was sleep.

Not supplements.

Not expensive equipment.

Not fancy recovery programs.

Sleep.

According to Dr. King, Athletes who consistently get at least eight hours of sleep are less likely to experience concussions, and if they do sustain a concussion, they often recover more quickly.

The reason is surprisingly simple: the brain heals during sleep. Adequate sleep also improves reaction time, decision-making, and physical performance. Yet most American teenagers average only about six and a half hours of sleep per night.

We're asking developing brains to compete, learn, perform, and recover while chronically sleep deprived.

And then we're surprised when injuries happen.

The Helmet Myth

One of my favorite parts of the interview was our rapid-fire myth-busting section, and one myth stood above the rest: helmets prevent concussions.

The answer is no.

Helmets are incredibly important because they reduce the risk of skull fractures and serious traumatic brain injuries, and they can absolutely save lives. However, they do not prevent the brain from moving inside the skull, and that movement is what causes a concussion.

So yes, wear the helmet every time. Just don't assume it's a force field.

The "Brain Battery" Every Teen Understands

One of the most memorable insights Dr. King shared was an analogy that every parent should borrow. She encourages her patients to think of their brain as a battery. After a concussion, that battery doesn't fully charge, which means they have a limited amount of energy available each day.

The question then becomes how they want to spend that energy. Will it go toward healing, school, and getting back to their sport, or will it be spent scrolling TikTok for hours? Because the battery is finite, every choice comes with a cost.

It's a simple concept, but one that resonates with teenagers far more effectively than a lecture about screen time or recovery ever could.

Why This Matters for Parents

As parents, we spend a lot of time worrying about the injuries we can see.

The broken bones.

The bruises.

The cuts that need stitches.

But concussions require us to pay attention to something less obvious.

A child who suddenly struggles in school.

A teenager who seems unusually fatigued.

A young athlete who says reading feels different or complains that they can't track the ball the way they used to.

Sometimes those subtle changes are the injury.

And because concussion symptoms can overlap with vision, balance, attention, mood, and learning, they can easily be missed if we aren't looking for them.

The good news is that awareness is improving.

Parents are asking better questions.

Coaches are becoming more educated.

Athletic trainers are recognizing symptoms earlier.

And we know more than ever about how sleep, movement, vision, and proper recovery can help kids heal.

Most importantly, we're moving away from the idea that athletes should simply "tough it out."

Concussions are real.

They're treatable.

And with the right support, most children recover fully.

Sometimes it starts with listening when a child says something as simple as:

"My eyes feel weird."

Because that one sentence may tell us far more than we realize.

Want to Learn More?

You can subscribe to my podcast, In Focus, anywhere you listen — or follow along on Instagram for updates and tips.

Watch this episode on YouTube right now!

Thanks for reading — and for doing what you can to protect your family's vision, one step at a time.

– Dr. Rupa Wong
Pediatric Ophthalmologist | Surgeon | Mom of 3

This episode is brought to you by The Pinnacle Podcast Network! Learn more about Pinnacle at learnatpinnacle.com