Don't Mess with your Brain: Athletes and Concussions

Protecting your brain from injury is very important, especially in sport. Any athlete competing in a competitive sport and especially contact sports must be careful when it comes identify a concussion. A concussion is a transient alteration of mental status induced by traumatic biomechanical forces which may or may not include loss of consciousness. (Mark McCarthy, ATC Elite Sports Medicine) Concussions occur from a blow to the head and they are classified as a coup mechanism or contrecoup mechanism. Coup mechanism is a forceful blow to the resting head and the injury is where the impact occurs. Contrecoup mechanism is when impact of a moving head hits a unyielding object and the injury site is opposite where the impact occured. Signs and symptoms may include dizziness, mental confusion, memory loss, photophobia (sensitivity to light), tinnitus (ringing in the ears), nausea, vomiting, irritability, dazed and confused, decreased attention span, loss of consciousness, fatigue, headache and feeling slowed down.

So why is a concussion a big deal?
It is a big deal because if concussions are not properly diagnosed and treated properly they can leave athletes at risk for more serious brain injury. When an athlete gets a blow to the head athletic trainers perform an evaluation. They ask an athlete how they feel and if they are feeling any of the above symptoms. Next checking cranial nerves is important to rule out any serious brain trauma, important ones are checking eye movement and making sure pupils are equal and reactive to light. Balance and coordination tests are done also. The only way to get rid of a concussion is to rest and an athlete is only allowed to return when all symptoms are gone, which at times can be up to 7 to 10 days later or even longer. As an athletic training student and athlete concussions are a frustrating injury because at appearance an athlete may look fine, but there brain is actually was hurt.

What happens if a concussion is left untreated and another one occurs?
Second Impact Syndrome can occur and this is when an athlete sustains another concussion when the brain has not healed from the previous concussion. This can be fatal and can cause permanent disability to an athlete. More awareness is needed in this area because alot of athletes do not tell athletic trainers or coaches that something is wrong and they do not get the rest that they need. Athletes try to play through their injuries and even if they have a concussion they won't tell anyone. Playing through a concussion is not safe. It is important that athletes know that if you do receive a concussion and have any of the above symptoms they should stop there sport and let an athletic trainer know. Another problem with concussions is that not all high schools have athletic trainers who can properly help athletes who sustain them. Athletes just need to remember that it is important to not mess around when it comes to your brain and that it is important to take care of yourself.