Postconcussion Symptom Scale (no Symptoms, 0; Moderate, 3; Severe, 6)
Headache | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Nausea | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Vomiting | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Balance problems | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Dizziness | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Fatigue | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Trouble falling to sleep | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Excessive sleep | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Loss of sleep | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Drowsiness | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Light sensitivity | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Noise sensitivity | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Irritability | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Sadness | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Nervousness | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
More emotional | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Numbness | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Feeling “slow” | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Feeling “foggy” | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Difficulty concentrating | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Difficulty remembering | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Visual problems | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Use of the postconcussion symptom scale: The athlete should complete the form, on his or her own, by circling a subjective value for each symptom. This form can be used with each encounter to track progress toward symptom resolution. Many athletes may have some of these reported symptoms at a baseline, such as concentration difficulties in the patient with attention-deficit disorder or sadness in an athlete with underlying depression. This must be taken into consideration when interpreting the score. Athletes do not need a total score of 0 to return to play if they had symptoms before their concussion. This scale has not been validated to determine concussion severity.