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Athletes
  • Pop Warner limits contact practices
  • Why concussions affect people differently
  • First soccer head impact study
  • Video games used to assess concussions
  • Univ. of Georgia concussion symposium May 30 at 8pm
  • Riddell adds CDC/USA Football  concussion tags
  • Brain injury's 911 call
  • First responders: concussions no easy task
  • Sub-concussive impacts may affect learning
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Knowing the signs and symptoms of concussion is important. If you think you may have suffered a concussion:


1) Take yourself out

If you think you may have suffered a concussion, take yourself out of the game or practice. Make sure you consult a health care professional before resuming physical activity. It is important not to suffer another injury until the first one has completely healed. Know the signs and symptoms of a concussion and remember that it can take time for them to appear, sometimes hours or days after the injury occurs.

If you think you have a concussion, sit out. It's not worth the risk.


2) Signs and symptoms of concussion

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  • Appears dazed or stunned
  • Headache or "pressure" in head
  • Is confused about assignment or position
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Forgets an instruction
  • Balance problems or dizziness
  • Is unsure of game, score, or opponent
  • Double or blurry vision
  • Moves clumsily
  • Sensitivity to light
  • Answers questions slowly
  • Sensitivity to noise
  • Loses consciousness (even briefly)
  • Feeling sluggish, hazy, foggy, or groggy
  • Shows mood, behavior, or personality changes
  • Concentration or memory problems
  • Can't recall events prior to hit or fall
  • Confusion
  • Can't recall events after hit or fall
  • Does not "feel right" or is "feeling down"


3) Tell someone

A person who suffers a concussion is not always the best judge of how badly they are hurt, because their brain may not be working properly. If you think you may have a concussion, or just aren't feeling "quite right" and you have one or more signs/symptoms of concussion, tell someone, preferably your coach, parent or another adult.

4) Make sure to seek medical help

It is important to consult a medical provider who is trained in the diagnosis and management of concussion. Don't judge the severity of the injury yourself. Concussions can be very unpredictable. A qualified medical professional will be able to diagnose your injury and guide you through the recovery process. They may recommend complete rest, both physical and cognitive, as the brain needs both to heal. This typically means no physical activity and limiting brain activity like watching TV, texting, reading, and computer use.

5) Give yourself time

Your brain needs time to heal. Concussions are as individual as the athlete who sustains it, and no one can predict, at the time of injury, how long healing will take. Physical and cognitive rest are often the shortest route to recovery. It is important not to return to physical activity or cognitive activity such as a full day of school, until your medical provider says it is safe to do so.

6) Obtain written medical authorization

Many states require athletes to obtain written medical authorization before they are allowed to return to play. If your state does not have a concussion law with this stipulation, it's a good practice to follow anyway. Make sure you are evaluated by a medical professional who is trained in the diagnosis and management of concussion. It's important to inquire.

6) Return to play gradually

In 2008 an international panel of concussion experts developed a gradual return-to-play protocol for all athletes returning to activity after concussion. Increase your physical activity gradually, so you can tell your medical provider if you are truly symptom-free and ready to return to full participation. If symptoms return when you do light drills or increase your heart rate, tell your parents who should contact your medical provider.

7) Be honest

Many of the high school athletes who have suffered catastrophic injuries such as second impact syndrome, played with symptoms from a previous concussion. In some cases their friends knew, but didn't know how dangerous it was so they didn't speak up. Be honest with your parents, your medical professional and your coaches. It is impossible to know who will be lucky or who will require brain surgery.

8) Help a teammate

If you suspect a teammate has suffered a concussion, speak up, tell a coach or his/her parents. You might just save a life.


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Current research

Concussion research has increased dramatically over the past several years, particularly at the youth level. However, studies take time. Much of the data that's been accumulated so far applies to adults and does not extrapolate directly to youth athletes. Therefore, it is important to remember that adult remedies may not be suitable for student-athletes. For instance, tests performed on adult helmets, with adult-sized forces and dimensions, do not apply to youth helmets. Human brains are not fully developed until around age 25.

New hockey helmet tackles rotational forces

OTTAWA, Ontario--Bauer Hockey, Inc., the world’s leading manufacturer of ice hockey equipment, officially unveiled the BAUER RE-AKT helmet, the first hockey helmet designed to specifically manage the multiple type of hits in the game, including rotational-force impacts,...

Concussions more harmful to teens: study

The revolving door of concussed professional athletes has changed over time. A play resulting in having one's "bell rung" used to mean a headache for a few days but no missed plays. Then injured players would return within a week. Today, it is more common to see...

Concussions more harmful to teens: study (2)

The revolving door of concussed professional athletes has changed over time. A play resulting in having one's "bell rung" used to mean a headache for a few days but no missed plays. Then injured players would return within a week. Today, it is more common to see...

Heading in Soccer; the investigation continues

Could heading the ball in soccer lead to degenerative brain disease, like that seen in athletes in other sports? That's the question addressed by a review in the January issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. As yet there's not...

Portable brain scanner wins FDA approval

On those rare occasions when an athlete becomes unresponsive, the clock starts ticking. The decision to airlift to a trauma center or transport to the local hospital can mean the difference between life and death. In the case of brain injuries, medical personnel make...

Amino acids may restore concussion's chemical imbalance

Concussions are often called the "invisible" injury because they are usually not detectable by the average CT scan or MRI. Even so, it is often very apparent that something is wrong. That "something" is often defined as a metabolic imbalance, created by the impact of...

Amino acids may restore concussion's chemical imbalance

Concussions are often called the "invisible" injury because they are usually not detectable by the average CT scan or MRI. Even so, it is often very apparent that something is wrong. That "something" is often defined as a metabolic imbalance, created by the impact of...

NHL enforcer Boogaard the "Boogeyman" had CTE at 28

Family, friends, and teammates watched Derek Boogaard's descent to death, in slow motion. When his body was discovered in his Minneapolis apartment on May 13, 2011, his NHL career and his life had been punctuated by substance abuse, stints in rehabilitation centers,...

Study: Concussion Testing Should Not Overlook Physiology

ACSM research finds impaired cerebrovascular reactivity among concussed athletes / With the ice hockey and football seasons now in full swing, kinesiology experts are examining the prolonged effects of concussions on athletes. While many athletes think they are recovered...

Soccer 'Heading' Can Lead to Brain Injury

Nov. 30, 2011 - Using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to study the effects of soccer 'heading,' researchers have found that players who head the ball with high frequency have brain abnormalities similar to those found in traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients. Results...

NOCSAE statement on leatherhead study

NOCSAE® Statement from the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment "The National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) believes scientific research is very important in helping to understand how best to protect...

Routine Head Hits in Sports May Cause Brain Injury

Nov. 18, 2011 -- The brain scans of high school football and hockey players showed subtle injury -- even if they did not suffer a concussion – after taking routine hits to the head during the normal course of play, according to a University of Rochester Medical Center...

Leather vs. Poly; helmet study surprise

Old-fashioned "leatherhead" football helmets from the early 1900s are often as effective as – and sometimes better than – modern football helmets at protecting against injuries during routine, game-like collisions, according to Cleveland Clinic researchers. The study...

Study investigates blood biomarkers for concussion

Researchers at Cleveland Clinic have received a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue studying the effectiveness of a blood test that conclusively identifies concussions in college football players. The test – using blood samples taken before and...

Forces that Fracture

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—While studying concussions in a high school football team, researchers captured the impact of an 18-year-old player who broke his neck during a head-down tackle in real-time. Steven Broglio, an assistant professor in the University of Michigan School of...

CTE or not, these athletes suffered

Autopsy results from four former Canadian Football League (CFL) players showed the presence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in two of the mens' brains. CTE is a degenerative brain disease studied extensively by Boston area researchers at the Center for the...

Researchers' Helmet Ratings Impact Buying Decisions - Buyer Beware

Researchers at Virginia Tech recently released the results of an eight-year study that culminated in an announcement specifically detailing which adult football helmets performed best in reducing concussion risk. Results are part of the Virginia Tech National Impact...

Brain Health

CT scans may increase brain cancer risk

Children and young adults scanned multiple times by computed tomography (CT), a commonly used diagnostic tool, have a small increased risk of leukemia and brain tumors in the decade following their ...

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Neuroscience

911 signal relay sends help to brain injury

Like emergency workers rushing to a disaster scene, cells called microglia speed to places where the brain has been injured, to contain the damage by ‘eating up’ any cellular debris and dead or dying ...

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Resources

CDC: Return-to-school guide for school ...
  • School professionals play an important role in the health of all students. Recognizing the signs and symptoms of concussion is important, as is managing their return to school post-injury.
  • Some ...
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