The University of South Florida has launched a multidisciplinary center with expertise in managing postconcussive syndrome, the sometimes disabling symptoms that linger after a concussion — even long after a seemingly mild head injury.

The USF Concussion Center brings together experts in neurology, neurocritical care, neurosurgery, neuropsychology, psychiatry, audiology, pediatrics, neuro-otology, ophthalmology, neuroradiology, athletic training, sports medicine and physical therapy.

“A concussion doesn’t have to knock you out to leave lasting effects,” said Gianluca Del Rossi, PhD, ATC, associate professor of orthopaedics and sports medicine at USF Health and director of the USF Concussion Center. “Even mild ones need to be recognized and managed to avoid potentially devastating complications.”

Most concussions resolve on their own within a week or so with medical attention and rest, Del Rossi said, but some patients with mild head injury develop a troubling set of symptoms known collectively as postconcussive syndrome, or PCS, which last longer than three months.

The syndrome can be challenging to evaluate and manage because many of its symptoms are associated with other potential disorders unrelated to head injury, Del Rossi said. “At times, it can be difficult to tie some of the behavioral and emotional changes that often accompany PCS — like irritability, anxiety, impaired memory or judgment, and depression — back to the concussion that may have occurred months earlier.”

For more information about the new USF Concussion Center, click here: http://www.USFConcussionCenter.com