Sport Concussion
A little article I came accross while surfing the net for Basketball related topics.
Concussions are becoming one of the most sports related injuries. We all see how twisted ankles swell and discolour, casts go on broken bones. Bloody noses, black eyes, cuts, scrapes and bruises all the above are injuries that can be seen with the naked eye, but brain injuries are the hardest to understand unless you've had one yourself or have had someone close to you experience one.
The story below shows excerpts from an article written by Greg Raver-Lampman on a concussion related injury and some of the things the teen aged girl had to undure.
Take a few minutes to read through this article, it's a good read. Keep in mind that every head injury is different and symptoms will vary from person to person, with some being more severe than others.
Understanding the dangers of concussions
CHKD physicians lead the efforts to improve concussion care. By Greg Raver-Lampman
The third time Sarah Cottrell suffered a concussion, she knew it immediately – and she knew what she’d face in the days and weeks ahead. Clutching her head after an accidental blow from another lacrosse player’s stick, Sarah began bracing herself for the splitting headaches, dizziness, anxiety, nausea, fatigue and concentration problems that made sitting through a single 45-minute high school class almost impossible.
“I never really understood the severity of concussions until all this happened to me,” said Sarah, who suffered her injuries in the spring and fall of 2009 and the spring of 2010. “A lot of people think you can just play through it, tough it out. It’s difficult because it’s not an injury you can see. The third time I had one, I didn’t want to admit it. But I felt so bad that I didn’t even want to stand up. I just wanted to sleep all day.”
Sarah’s symptoms were so severe that for weeks she struggled during tests and developed cold sweats and severe nausea trying to take notes in the classroom.
Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates about 3.8 million people a year suffer some kind of concussion while playing sports; approximately 10 percent of athletes in contact sports have one each season, although the riskiest tend to be football, basketball and soccer.
A concussion can occur after any blow to the body or head that causes the head to whip back and forth. That force slams the brain against the inner wall of the skull. While concussions can range from mild to severe, all temporarily interfere with brain function. Symptoms, which vary widely by person and may not appear right away, can include headaches, dizziness, nausea, memory problems, loss of balance, double vision, anxiety, irritability and sleep disturbances.
Contrary to popular opinion, most young concussion patients don’t ever lose consciousness; in fact, just 10 percent do. Sarah Cottrell, an aggressive defender on her school’s varsity lacrosse team, remembers feeling as if she was in a haze after her first injury, when she collided with another player and fell, hitting the back of her head against the ground.
“It seemed like clouds were all around me, and I was moving very slowly,” she said. “And I wanted to come out of the game, which is totally unlike me.”
After Sarah’s second and third concussions, both caused by blows from lacrosse sticks, her symptoms were so severe that for weeks she struggled during tests and developed cold sweats and severe nausea trying to take notes in the classroom.
Her mother estimates she missed close to 30 days of school, counting days she had to go home early. “Such situations are common,” said Dr. Joel Brenner, medical director of the sports medicin at the Children's Hospitalof the King's Daughters in Norfolk, VA. Dr. Brenner helps athletes get academic accommodations as they heal. “Your brain needs to rest just as much as your body does,” he said. “Unlike adults, the young athlete’s job is to learn in school, and trying to do this while recovering from a concussion can worsen symptoms and prolong recovery.”
In fact, rest is the only way to heal a concussion, although doctors can treat headaches with medication. Most children who suffer concussions can return to play after fully recovering. If athletes return to the playing field too soon, they are at higher risk for a second concussion, as well as for a condition called post-concussion syndrome in which symptoms can linger for months or even years.
“I have seen some athletes who still aren’t completely recovered two years after their injuries,” Dr. Brenner says. “People need to understand that these are traumatic brain injuries, even if symptoms are mild.”
Even worse is the small but real risk of “second-impact syndrome,” when a second head injury happens before an earlier one has healed. This can cause rapid brain swelling, permanent brain damage and even death. Furthermore, doctors are discovering evidence that repeated concussions may, over time, increase the chances of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (a condition similar to Alzheimer’s disease).
Treatment recommendations are evolving as knowledge improves. In the end, though, many families still have to make judgment calls.
The article in it entirety can been found at the following URL: http://www.chkd.org/Patients/Stories/Sarah.aspx
