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uk sports medicine
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Health in Sports Report - August/September 2005
Concussions: Head Injuries Can Have Devastating Consequences
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Head injuries are a serious concern in athletics. It has been estimated over 300,000 concussions occur in sports every year. Because athletes want to return to activities quickly, they often underreport their symptoms, not knowing they are putting their lives at risk. Physicians and athletic trainers at UK Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine want to be sure athletes are as protected as possible while involved in sports. In this issue, we take a closer look at head injuries and how you can help protect your patients from serious injury.
Head injuries in athletes can range from “getting your bell rung” to death. Head injuries are cumulative – which means after sustaining a head injury, or concussion, the brain may not return to pre-concussion levels for weeks after the initial injury. If an athlete continues to receive blows to the head week after week, he or she is well on their way to suffering a lifethreatening head injury. The condition called second-impact syndrome occurs, which means the brain still is swollen and at much greater risk for further damage. A second impact under this condition can be fatal.
Signs of a head injury vary in severity. Symptoms can include dizziness, ringing in the ears, loss of balance, nausea, lack of short term and/or long-term memory, and can even include loss of consciousness. An athlete may run the wrong play, or continually ask the coach the same questions and these are signs the athlete may have a head injury. Sometimes, these symptoms are disregarded and not noticed until the athlete experiences a severe loss of balance or loss of consciousness. Thus, a player should be observed closely following an injury or impact, even if it is just a “bell ringer.” Give the athlete something easy to remember and return five minutes later to ask him or her to repeat those points.
In addition to being life-threatening, head injuries also can be career threatening. For example, former Pittsburgh Steeler running back Merril Hoge sustained a head injury while playing football and continued to play despite his injury. He now suffers from the inability to concentrate and has bouts of severe headaches. Due to this injury, he has sued the National Football League for his injury and the treatment he received. An injury thought to be nonthreatening turned out to be a handicap he will live with through his lifetime.
Any time a head injury occurs, further medical attention should be attained. And in some cases, a complete neurological exam including a CT scan should be performed. If you have any questions about head injury, feel free to contact us at the UK Department of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine. We can assist you with the diagnosis and treatment of head injuries.
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