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Health & Fitness

School Sports: Five Myths About Concussions

By Susie McDaniel, DPT and Beth Ardell, MPT*

Just as with any preventable health concern, the best defense against a concussion is knowledge.  As summer sports are in full swing and fall sports are already starting to heat up, this is the perfect time to brush up on some information that can save you and your family from injury or at least minimize the repercussions.  Although most people have a general idea of what concussions are, there are still some myths surrounding the injury.

MYTH #1: The two most dangerous high school sports in terms of concussions are football and hockey. 

FACT:
 Although high school football does account for around 250,000 concussions each year**, the second most dangerous sport isn’t hockey; it’s girls’ soccer.  Other school sports with especially high concussion rates include boys’ wrestling, girls’ basketball, boys’ ice hockey, and boys’ lacrosse***.  But even if your child’s sport of choice is not on the list of the biggest offenders, take as many precautions as possible, because a concussion can happen to anyone in any sport.

MYTH #2: If the victim doesn’t lose consciousness, their injury is probably minor and won’t result in cognitive damage.

FACT:
 Any concussion can have severe results, and unconsciousness occurs in less than 10% of cases.  On-the-field amnesia is the best predictor of symptom severity and neurocognitive damage, but seek medical attention if any of the following symptoms are present: headache, confusion, lightheadedness or dizziness, blurred vision or tired eyes, ringing in the ears, bad taste in the mouth, seizures, numbness or poor coordination in limbs, fatigue, agitation or restlessness, changes in sleep patterns, mood swings and behavior changes, and trouble with concentration, attention, or thinking.

MYTH #3: Medical imaging machines like MRIs, CTs, and EEGs are the only way to identify the effects of a concussion.

FACT:
 MRIs, CTs, and EEGs are not always useful at identifying the effects of a concussion.  “Concussions are usually metabolic, not structural injuries,” explain Tanya Mitchell, co-author or Unlock the Einstein Inside; Applying New Brain Science to Wake Up the Smart in Your Child.  “Observation of symptoms is probably the best and fastest way to diagnose a concussion on the spot and in the days immediately following the injury.  A cognitive skills assessment is effective to determine if certain skills—such as attention, working memory, and long-term memory—have been affected.  This is even more valuable if a cognitive baseline has been established prior to the injury so there are brain skills measurements against which to compare.”

MYTH #4: Other than rest, there’s nothing you can do to repair brain skills after a concussion.

FACT:
 If you know that your child has cognitive changes due to a concussion, scientifically proven cognitive therapy can help.  Also known as “brain training,” intensive, one-on-one cognitive therapy rebuilds and strengthens mental tools like memory, reasoning, and auditory processing.  The research-based, game-like activities exercise the brain’s abilities and force it to build and strengthen its network of cells.  By reorganizing how the brain relays signals between cells, you can strengthen the cognitive skills that were weakened by the injury.

The first step in any reputable brain training program is to perform an assessment using noninvasive, precise cognitive tests to measure specific brain skills—like memory, logic and reasoning, processing speed, auditory and visual processing, and attention.

“When we work with athletes who have sustained a brain injury due to concussion, we often find that certain brain skills, like attention, processing speed, and short-term and long-term memory—among others—have been damaged,” explains Mitchell, who is also the Vice President of Research and Development for LearningRx, a national brain training company with 80+ training centers across the U.S.  “Once we know the weakest skills, we provide one-on-one training using intense exercises and timed drills to strengthen those brain skills and rebuild connections in the brain.  We can harness the plasticity of the brain at any age—from five to eighty-five—using targeted, customized exercises that have been scientifically proven to significantly increase how efficiently, effectively and quickly the brain functions.”

MYTH #5: Concussions just happen; there’s nothing parents can do to protect their young athletes from concussions or their effects.

FACT:
 There are plenty of precautions that parents (and coaches) can take to help prevent concussions and minimize the damage in the case of an injury:

• Check the condition of your child’s helmet or other protective gear and make sure it fits properly.
• Take your athlete to a local brain training center for an initial cognitive skills assessment to provide a unique baseline against which they can measure the results of future post-concussion tests.• Ensure that your child’s coach is aware of—and following—the safest practices for suspected concussions (such as a required waiting period before putting a player back in the game).
• Make sure the team’s athletic trainer has a screwdriver on hand during games to remove a helmet’s face makes if there’s a possible spine injury.
• Encourage your school to create or enforce rules regarding concussions.  In 2010, Massachusetts enacted a rule that requires high school and middle school athletes with a suspected head injury or concussion to be removed from the game (or practice) for the entire day.  They can’t return until they receive written medical authorization, and everyone (coaches, trainers, parent volunteers) must participate in annual concussion training.
• Talk with your young athlete about the risks associated with concussions—especially repeated head injuries.  Explain how to identify the symptoms and discuss their options to sit out during practice or a game, even if the coach doesn’t require it.  Remind them that helmets don’t always prevent concussions and may even give them a false sense of security, causing them to take greater risks.


Remember, while one concussion rarely causes permanent damage, repeated concussions (especially in close succession) can.  It’s unrealistic to expect active youth to be 100 percent injury-free throughout their many practices and games, but learning about prevention, symptom identification, and treatment can minimize the chance and severity of injuries.  Do what you can and then encourage them to have fun and enjoy all the great positive aspects of childhood sports!



* Susie McDaniel and Beth Ardell are the owners of LearningRx Atlanta-Buckhead and LearningRx Alpharetta-Johns Creek, cognitive skills training centers that work with individuals to improve their learning ability through brain training. Both are mothers who have seen their own children’s cognitive abilities improve greatly through LearningRx programs.  LearningRx offers cognitive skills testing and intense one-on-one brain training that improves academic achievement, boosts self-esteem, and permanently increases IQ.  For more information about these and other learning topics, contact LearningRx Alpharetta-Johns Creek at 770-475-3276 or LearningRx Atlanta-Buckhead at 404-252-7246, or visit www.learningrx.com/greater-atlanta.
**“The Effect of Sport Concussion on Neurocognitive Function, Self-Report Symptoms and Postural Control”http://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18081367
***“Epidemiology of concussions among United States high school athletes in 20 sports” April 2012 issue of American Journal of Sports Medicine

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