Concussions in Sports
Concussions in Sports are currently all over the news due to NFL players and mostly ex-NFL players speaking out about the long term effects these traumatic brain injuries have. Concussions can happen in any sport at any given time so coaches, trainers, and parents must be aware of the symptoms that come along with these horrible injuries. This topic has hit home because recently I have been dealing with post concussion syndrome. About 3 months ago I was playing hockey in a men’s pick up game and fell on the back of my head. With out feeling too bad and with no one to test me I continued to play and didn’t notice or have any symptoms until I got home.
I started to feel foggy and nauseous and instantly knew what was going on because this was not the first time I had experienced this feeling. For the next 10 days I was foggy with blurred vision and couldn’t do much of anything. My circadian rhythm was completely off, meaning I suffered with insomnia and sleeping a lot later than I normally would.
After the fogginess left I started to lightly try to get back in the gym by riding the stationary bike. At first I could only go for 5 minutes before the blurred vision, light headedness and a panicky feeling set in. I eventually got to 30 minutes a couple months later and started feeling good. One day I decided to push it to 45 minutes and reactivated the entire concussion because I came back too fast.
Concussions in sports are very serious and these athletes today are coming back way too fast. I understand that there is a lot of money involved and the potential of someone else taking their position, but this is your brain, people! You need your brain! Protective measures should be taken more as well as preventive measures, but hey, let’s be honest – these things happen.
Here is a list of concussion symptoms that should be immediately recognized.
Concussions in Sports and the Symptoms:
- Headache or a feeling of pressure in the head
- Temporary loss of consciousness
- Confusion or feeling as if in a fog
- Amnesia surrounding the traumatic event
- Dizziness or “seeing stars”
- Ringing in the ears
- Nausea or vomiting
- Slurred speech
- Fatigue
- Concentration and memory complaints
- Irritability and other personality changes
- Sensitivity to light and noise
- Sleep disturbances
- Psychological adjustment problems and depression
- Disorders of taste and smell
- Listlessness, tiring easily
- Irritability, crankiness
- Change in eating or sleeping patterns
- Lack of interest in favorite toys
- Loss of balance, unsteady walking
Seek emergency care for a child who experiences a head injury and:
- Vomiting
- A headache that gets worse over time
- Changes in his or her behavior, including irritability or fussiness
- Changes in physical coordination, including stumbling or clumsiness
- Confusion or disorientation
- Slurred speech or other changes in speech
- Vision or eye disturbances, including pupils that are bigger than normal (dilated pupils) or pupils of unequal sizes
- Changes in breathing pattern
- Lasting or recurrent dizziness
- Blood or fluid discharge from the nose or ears
- Large head bumps or bruises on areas other than the forehead, especially in infants under 12 months of age
Seek emergency care for anyone who experiences a head injury and:
- A loss of consciousness lasting more than a minute
- Repeated vomiting
- Seizures
- Obvious difficulty with mental function or physical coordination
Here are a couple links for more information on concussions:
Concussion Tests and Diagnosis
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