What’s Up with Concussions?
Concussion is a very “vogue” injury now days. The NFL is doing studies and being sued over them. The NCAA has had athletes commit suicide over disorders linked with having numerous concussions. Serious later-in-life disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Dementia have earlier onset in those that have had concussions. But so very little is truly understood about them. What IS a concussion? Why are they so serious? How do they relate to us as athletes, parents and coaches?
To start off, I will say that there is a ton of information out there about concussions themselves and in relation to sports in general. I found a website – www.concussiontreatment.com – that has information and resources for athletes, parents, coaches, trainers and schools as well as medical professionals. They had documents, reports, tools and videos to help with understanding the seriousness of this injury and how to deal with it. There is also a tool on there that helps you look up your state’s concussions in youth sports laws for each state. All states but Mississippi have laws pertaining to concussions in youth sports, so it might be very beneficial for coaches/gym owners to familiarize themselves with the laws as they pertain to the state(s) their gym(s) is/are located in. It could be the difference between violating a law and having an athlete (and parent) over eager to be back on the mat again. 
The research I did was very eye-opening to say the least. I think most people have a basic understanding of what a “concussion” is, but how it affects someone is another thing entirely. We see sprains, ACL injuries, dislocations and breaks visually. I think because we don’t truly “see” a concussion visually it isn’t seen to be as serious as it truly is. In this age of technology, think of it as you taking a nail and hitting the motherboard of your computer in a certain area, and then trying to use the computer. That area of the motherboard that you hit works a certain function of the computer. If you “damage” that portion of the motherboard, the computer isn’t going to function properly pertaining to the area that was damaged.
The human brain is the “motherboard” of each and every human. They are all different, and have different speeds they function at, different sized memories, different skill benefits, and so on. The “motherboard” is what ultimately determines us and helps us live. A computer can function without a battery (electrical cord is fine); it will NOT work without a motherboard. Likewise, there are machines that can keep humans alive by working as the heart, lungs and other necessary organs would, but there isn’t anything that can replace the brain – your motherboard.
A concussion – also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) – is caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to either the head or the body that causes the brain to move rapidly inside the skull. This will cause the brain to change how it functions. Someone can receive a concussion from being hit in the head, or by being near a loud enough noise to cause heavy vibrations. It is silly to think that noise can cause a concussion, but it certainly can. After all, a concussion is an injury to the brain – not necessarily a bump or bruise. When someone experiences a concussion, some of the symptoms are headache, nausea, fatigue, confusion or memory loss, sleep disturbances, or mood changes. These symptoms most of the time are noticed right after the event causing injury, but some might not be recognized until days or weeks later. I know that when I received my concussion, I had symptoms that showed up almost a week later. I passed out and had to go to the hospital, where they diagnosed me with a concussion I had gotten during a volleyball tournament I had been playing in the weekend before.
The fact that this is an injury that occurs in our brains should be cause enough for us to be cautious, but I have seen and heard people speak about someone with a concussion. They feel that parents, athletes and doctors are overreacting to things. It is a natural thing to think that – they are not limping; they are physically functioning normally so why is it such a huge deal? The answer is that it is the “motherboard” of the person that has it. The brain is a magnificent, mysterious part of the human body that can do so much. Humans only use about 10% (on average) of the total memory capability of the brain. Think about if we could access the other 90% of that memory ability! The brain can cause a person to believe they are pregnant to the point of having a growing tummy and feeling baby movements (psychosomatic). The brain can cause someone to hear and see things that are not there (schizophrenia), and it can have you convincing yourself that the lie that you told is the God’s honest truth to the point of passing a lie detector test. It is a magnificent thing that we know little to nothing about. And we are having kids get concussions and thinking it is just a bump on the head and they are fine.
According to www.brainline.org, there are cited studies that have been done that show that younger athletes take LONGER to recover from a concussion. High school athletes take longer to recover from a concussion than college athletes in the same sport. There are also studies that state if a high school athlete receives a concussion they are three-times more likely to get a second concussion. This is a large reason that doctors are so cautious about concussions in kids – they take longer to recover (unlike a physical injury such as a sprain or strain, which typically takes shorter time to recover from when you are younger), and the damage appears to be a more permanent one when it occurs in youth. You are more likely to concuss again if you are not recovered from the first one, and with a second right on top of the first, the outcome tends to be much more serious, which includes rapid brain swelling and even death.
In the case of concussions there needs to be a change to the way of thinking. The younger that a person gets a concussion, the worse it is. Don’t question when someone is being overly cautious after getting a concussion – they are the only ones that can truly state if they are over it or not. What happens during a concussion is startling to say the least, with physical and mental symptoms such as inability to concentrate, forgetfulness, headaches, fatigue, dizziness, nausea and loss of balance. For many, the symptoms will disappear after about ten days and don’t typically last more than several months. But not all cases are typical, as many know. In some cases a concussion can lead to complaints of physical, mental, emotional and behavioral symptoms (often referred to as “post-concussion syndrome”). Whenever an athlete hits their head there should be medical attention sought; even if it doesn’t appear to have been “that severe”. Concussions can happen just from the “jarring” of the brain, so a very severe jerking of the head can cause a concussion; it doesn’t just result from impact.
It is estimated that 1.6 – 3.8 million sports- and recreation-related concussions occur in the US each year (The Epidemiology and Impact of Traumatic Brain Injury: A Brief Overview, 2006; 21:375-78). It is also worth noting that during the span of 2001-2005, children and youth aged 5-18 accounted for 2.4 million sports-related emergency department visits annually. Of those reported, about 6%, or 135,000 involved concussions (DHHS, CDC, 2007; 56(29); 733-37). In the greater scheme of things that doesn’t seem to be that big of a deal, but if you consider that this is some young kids, it suddenly takes on new meaning. To add another thing to consideration, the younger the victim of a concussion is, the more effects they will experience and the longer it takes for them to get over it.
The story of concussions has been in the news a lot lately, but what we don’t consider is that the kids today are doing things that we didn’t do 20 years ago. I hear adults complaining “Well, when I was their age I did that and I was fine!” Did anyone stop to think that the frequency of Dementia, Alzheimer’s, and depression-related illnesses is exponentially greater among adults, thus possibly providing a connection between “when we were kids” and us not taking care of ourselves and our coaches, teachers and parents not knowing enough about concussions to properly treat us and sit us out?
Concussions are serious. Not every blow to the head will result in one, but why take the chance and disregard the severity because you need the athlete for the big game/meet/competition Saturday? Is the next game/meet/competition truly worth the athlete suffering side effects down the road such as forgetting who they are, who their family is, and not remembering the big game/meet/competition? We are talking about some serious stuff with concussions! We are talking about our brains – our mother boards! We take better care of our computers and smart phones than we do our brains and the brains of our children! That is sad to say that, but it is the truth. I don’t cast blame elsewhere – I can look in the mirror and take my fair share of blame, for my daughter hitting her head and me telling her she was fine and to get back out there and work. We need to put the health and well-being before the sports, the awards and the accolades. If we don’t, we will have a future of more dementia, Alzheimer’s, and suicides than we will care to realize. It is time to put the kids first.
Co-founder Heart of Cheer
