It’s not just professional football players that have to worry about concussions. Savvy Aunties who have nieces and nephews that play sports need to be aware, too! According to the CDC, about 630,000 children visit emergency rooms every year for traumatic brain injuries, resulting in more than 67,000 hospitalizations and 6,100 deaths.
 
Concussion is a traumatic brain injury that alters brain function. It can include problems with headaches, concentration, memory, judgment, balance and coordination. It’s called an invisible injury because it is a functional injury that can’t be detected with scans. And when there has not been a loss of consciousness with the injury, often the diagnosis is missed. This makes it difficult to judge the severity of the injury, especially on the field. In fact some athletes themselves are unaware of their injury initially.

Now a new study just published in the journal of Pediatrics found a huge increase in the number of kids coming to the ER for sports-related concussion. Researchers found a 92% increase in the number of kids presenting to the ER with concussion over the last 10 years. However at the same time the number of hospitalizations remained the same, around 10%. Luckily this is an indication that the severity of concussion is going down.

Parents, coaches and aunts are getting the message that concussion is not an injury to be taken lightly. Every concussion injures your brain to some extent and it needs time and rest to heal properly. The effects of most concussions are usually temporary but repeated injury can lead to permanent brain damage.

There are new recommendations and guidelines for cognitive testing to determine the extent of injury. There are new technologies, such as computerized diagnostic testing called ImPACT, Immediate Post-concussion assessment and Cognitive testing. It requires pre-season baseline testing. It can be used to determine both the severity of the problem as well as gauge improvement and recovery.

But the key is to be aware, and if your niece or nephew hits their head during a game, be savvy and err on the side of caution. When in doubt have them sit it out!

Dr. Leigh Vinocur is a board certified emergency physician and national spokesperson for the American College of Emergency Physicians. Currently she is serving on faculty as an Adjunct Assistant Professor, at Louisiana State University Health Science Center, School of Medicine in Shreveport, Louisiana. For more on Dr. Vinocur visit www.drleigh.com.

Photo: horizontal.integration via photopin cc
Published: October 8, 2013