What happens within the body when a person sustains a concussion?
A concussion is a form of a brain or head injury arising from a direct or indirect hit on the head or body. When an individual sustains an injury, the brain suddenly shifts or shakes inside the body to the extent that it may even knock against the surface of the skull (Mann, 2011). This is as a result of a hard hit which accelerates or decelerates the brain within the skull. A hard hit has a lot of force which may even cause rotational injury. This involves the twisting of the brain and shearing off of the brain nerve fibres. Immediately after a concussion, brain cells remain vulnerable to any form of injury. During the same time, the brain temporarily loses normal functioning and become highly vulnerable to another head injury.
Why do you think the effects of concussions on young athletes have gotten so much attention lately?
In my opinion, I think that the effects of concussions receive a lot of attention lately because the number cases are almost doubling. Additionally, a significant number of young athletes are dying as a result of the side effects of concussions (Karnowski, 2011). According to CDC, researchers estimate that the number of concussions and head injuries increased by about 60 percent in the last ten years. For instance, the researchers recorded that 2001 had approximately 153,375 cases of brain injuries while 2009 had 248,418 cases (Mann, 2011). The rate of increase in the number of cases of brain injury is very alarming. Therefore, healthcare practitioners are giving the problem a lot of attention so as to create awareness among coaches, teachers and parents.
There are clear guidelines for how to handle athletes with concussions, but unfortunately, coaches (particularly those at the high school and collegiate level) don't abide by them like they should. What do you think can/should be done about this?
I think that there should be an increase in coach supervision to enhance compliance among coaches. Every coach should present the health status of all the players before every match to ensure that only physically fit players participate in the game. Additionally, there should be a campaign to create awareness among coaches on the best approaches to handle players who have suffered from concussions. Most of the coaches fail to abide by the guidelines because of lack of information. An awareness campaign will educate them on the dangers of using players who are yet to recover from a concussion (Karnowski, 2011). Consequently, they will be able to adopt preventive measures that will guarantee the safety of players.
References
Karnowski, S. (2011, June 20). Study affirms concussion dangers to young athletes. USA TODAY. Retrieved from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/medical/health/medical/story/2011/06/Study -affirms-concussion-dangers-to-young-athletes/48646702/1
Mann, D. (2011, October 6). Concussions on the Rise for Young Athletes: Study Shows Many Traumatic Brain Injuries Occur Among Bicycle Riders and Football Players. WebMD. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/children/news/20111006/concussions-on-the- rise-for-young-athletes
