The health impacts of concussions suffered while playing sports have been receiving increased attention in recent years.  According to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association,  An estimated 3.8 million concussions occur each year as a result of sport and physical activity in the U.S., with sport-related concussions account for 58% of all emergency department visits in children, and 46% of all concussions in adolescents.

Part of the problem is a culture around sport that has a tendency to discount the seriousness of head traumas against the importance of winning – a culture that was highlighted all too visibly in Michigan last September, with the return to play of quarterback Shane Morris after a head injury.

As institutions, players and parents grapple with the potential health impacts of sports-related traumatic brain injuries and how to avoid them, I asked Doug Martini — a PhD student in the University of Michigan Neurosport Research Laboratory — what he thought it was important for people to know about concussion.  These are captured on this latest video from Risk Bites:

 

And just in case you are too impatient to watch the video for two and a half minutes, here are the highlights:

  1. If you suffer a concussion, you should get an early and accurate diagnosis.
  2. Follow-up care is important.
  3. It’s not yet clear what the long term health impacts of concussion might be.
  4. Multiple head impacts that don’t lead to a diagnosis of concussion may also be significant.
  5. Helmets are designed to stop skull fractures, not prevent concussion.

 

For more information on concussion, it’s worth checking out the following resources:

General information:

University of Michigan Neurosport Research Laboratory

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) information on concussion

CDC Heads Up on Concussion

Consensus statement on concussion in sport: the 4th International Conference on Concussion in Sport held in Zurich, November 2012

National Athletic Trainers Association Position Statement on the Management of Sport Concussion

Research papers:

Broglio, S.P., et al., The persistent effects of concussion on neuroelectic indices of attention. J Neurotrauma, 2009. 26(9): p. 1463-1470.  DOI: 10.1089/neu.2008.0766

Pontifex, M.B., et al., The association between mild traumatic brain injury history and cognitive control. Neuropsychologia, 2009. 47(14): p. 3210-3216.  DOI: doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2009.07.021

Martini, D.N., et al., The chronic effects of concussion on gait. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 2011. 92(4): p. 585-589.  DOI: doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2010.11.029

Sosnoff, J.J., et al., Previous mild traumatic brain injury and postural control dynamics. J Athl Train, 2011. 46(1): p. 85-91.  DOI: 10.4085/1062-6050-46.1.85

Breedlove, E.L., et al., Biomechanical correlates of symptomatic and asymptomatic neurophysiological impairment in high school football. J Biomech, 2012. 45(7) pp1265-1272.  DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2012.01.034

Talavage, T.M., et al., Functionally-detected cognitive impairment in high school football players without clinically-diagnosed concussion. J Neurotrauma, 2010. 31(4): pp327-338.  DOI: 10.1089/neu.2010.1512

Bazarian, J.J., et al., Subject-specific changes in brain white matter on diffusion tensor imaging after sports-related concussion. Magn Reson Imaging, 2011. 30(2): p. 171-180.  DOI: 10.1016/j.mri.2011.10.001