Concussions, Concussions, Concussions.... Chapter 1

It seems that daily I hear about another athlete who is recovering from a concussion. Concussions are a very serious injury and are becoming a more frequent occurrence in sports of all levels. Concussions are also one of the few athletic injuries that seem to occur in equal frequency regardless of if the athlete is trained or untrained from a sports performance standpoint. In order to learn how to manage and possibly prevent concussions, I think it is important that parents and athletes first learn what a concussion is. The following definition was found in the Wikipedia online encyclopedia.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Concussion, from the Latin concutere ("to shake violently")[1] or the Latin concussus ("action of striking together"),[2] is the most common type of traumatic brain injury. The terms mild brain injury, mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), mild head injury (MHI), minor head trauma, and concussion may be used interchangeably,[3][4] although the latter is often treated as a narrower category.[5] The term "concussion" has been used for centuries and is still commonly used in sports medicine, while 'MTBI' is a technical term used more commonly nowadays in general medical contexts. Frequently defined as a head injury with a temporary loss of brain function, concussion can cause a variety of physical, cognitive, and emotional symptoms.Treatment of concussion involves monitoring and rest. Symptoms usually go away entirely within three weeks, though they may persist, or complications may occur.[6] Repeated concussions can cause cumulative brain damage such as dementia pugilistica or severe complications such as second-impact syndrome.
Due to factors such as widely varying definitions and possible underreporting of concussion, the rate at which it occurs annually is not known; however it may be more than 6 per 1,000 people.[7] Common causes include sports injuries, bicycle accidents, car accidents, and falls; the latter two are the most frequent causes among adults.[8] Concussion may be caused by a blow to the head, or by acceleration forces without a direct impact. The forces involved disrupt cellular processes in the brain for days or weeks.

Now to roughly summarize the above definition a concussion occurs when the brain is subjected to forces in the cerebral fluids as the result of a direct hit or an acceleration from the neck to the skull as the result of a jarring action. Once we understand what a concussion is the next step is how does an athlete manage once it has been determined they have a concussion.

The initial step for an athlete is to rest and relax. Avoid loud noises, over stimulation, or any strenuous activity. The athlete should not watch televison, play video games, use text messaging or other electronic hand held devices. By avoiding artificial light and stimuli it will allow the brain chemisty to return to it's natural state. As with any injury facing an athlete it is also important to take nutrition into account. The old saying "You are what you eat" is a very true statement. Any damage the body sustains must be repaired with proper nutritional building blocks. The athlete should make sure their diet following a concussion is primarily made up of lean proteins, vegetables, and fruits with some whole grains. (The diet an athlete should be eating anyway!) Post concussion nutrition should also be supplemented with additional glucose (Gatorade, simple sugars, etc...) which assists in the recovery of the brain's biochemisty. Hydration is also extremely important at this time to allow the nutrients to flow effectively through the body as it recovers. As the athlete continues to recover it is extremely important that they maintain a regeneration and recovery protocol. The athlete should perform a light static stretching routine as well as foam rolling and other myofascial release techniques. This will allow the athlete to enhance blood flow throughout the body, maintain flexibility, and hopefully keep a calm peace of mind while they are preparing to return to activity. Too many athletes are removed from all activities for vast periods of time and then return full force after monthes off only to encounter other injuries or issues finding themselves back on the disabled list. There has to be a progression throughout recovery to return to ensure that the athlete remains healthy. The athletes also need to make sure they are taking care of their own bodies through proper rest, nutrition, stretching, and hydration to allow for a quick recovery.

The last and most controversial aspect of concussions are prevention techniques. The most common preventive measures are based upon changing game techniques to make contact sports safer or strengthening the neck. While altering tackling techniques and hitting rules in contact sports assist in the safety of those athletes, they don't do much for the noncontact sport athletes suffering from an increase in concussions. And upon biomechanical analysis neck strengthen may even increase the g-forces applied to the brain post contact. In order to best serve the safety of our athletes we are beginning to utilize spine and neck stabalization techniques on our athletes in an attempt to train their bodies to disperse the forces throughout the body and diminish the acceleration on the neck, skull, and brain.

The next edition of this blog will highlight these stabalization techniques as well as further detail preventive measures for contact and non-contact athletes.


Kelly A. Wise, CSCS

Questions? Ask!!!
Kelly.Wise@ecc-athlete.com