Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Brain injuries are serious
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Juanita Thornton
Thornton is an advocate for the Brain Injury Association of Virginia in Roanoke.
Brain injuries are the leading cause of death and disability for children and adults under 45 years of age in the U.S. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 3.8 million sports- and recreation-related concussions occur in the U.S. each year, and U.S. emergency departments treat an estimated 135,000 sports- and recreation-related traumatic brain injuries, including concussions, among children ages 5 to 18.
A concussion is a brain injury that is caused by a sudden blow to the head or to the body. The blow shakes the brain inside the skull, which temporarily prevents the brain from working normally. A concussion does not always involve a loss of consciousness. A person can sustain a concussion even if there is no hit to the head. An indirect blow elsewhere in the body can transmit force to the head and cause a concussion.
Multiple concussions, which are common in many sports, may result in cumulative and long-lasting life changes.
You cannot see a concussion but you may notice some of the symptoms right away. Other symptoms can show up days or weeks after the injury. Student athletes, parents and coaches of every school athletic team and every extracurricular athletic activity should be trained to recognize the signs and symptoms of concussions, which can include nausea, dizziness or balance problems, double or fuzzy vision, sensitivity to light, headache, feeling sluggish or tired, feeling foggy or groggy, confusion, trouble concentrating and trouble remembering.
A tremendous amount of attention has been given to the issue of sports injury and concussion over the last few months, as evidenced by the Feb. 8 issue of Time magazine, which featured a story about the issue on its cover. The story underscores the prevalence and impact of concussions among athletes.
The compelling point is that no concussion, even those that are seemingly mild, can be ignored. These injuries can be devastating and are not limited to professional sports. On a daily basis, youth athletes and adults playing recreational sports also sustain concussions or more serious brain injuries. In light of these facts, it is incumbent upon the public to become better educated about concussion and brain injury, and to support efforts to protect our athletes.
Washington and Oregon have already passed sports concussion management laws, and lawmakers in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Missouri and Rhode Island legislatures are debating similar laws.
The Student Athlete Protection Act that is currently making its way through the Virginia General Assembly will incorporate national best practices into the policies of the Virginia High School Leagues rules on return to play for Virginia's public school student athletes.
All of these states have or are contemplating adopting some version of the National Football League rules, which state that players with concussions cannot return to the field on the same day they show any significant symptom of concussion and cannot return to play without the authorization of an independent brain-injury expert.
For many years, mild traumatic brain injuries (including concussions) were taken far too lightly. We know so much more than we did even five years ago about this epidemic, and improved data collection and analysis have clearly demonstrated the short- and long-term effects of concussion.
Athletes, parents and coaches should understand that proper identification and management of concussions can reduce or eliminate what could be lifelong effects from concussions.
