“Dr. Bill Elliott: Youth concussions demand our attention” |
Posted: 10 Jan 2011 09:45 AM PST SEVERAL YEARS AGO, I went to an AAU boxing match in San Francisco. It was an exciting event until one of the young fighters took a blow to his head that knocked him unconscious. His eyes rolled back while he was still standing and he crashed to the canvas about 5 feet from where I was sitting. As a doctor it was one of the most horrifying things I'd ever seen, and it took every bit of self control to not jump into the ring and help him. A few minutes later they walked the wobbly fighter to the locker room and the next fight started. A few years later I watched my own son get knocked nearly unconscious in a high school basketball game. He was dazed and slightly confused, but finished the game. Only later did we realize that he had a concussion and several fractured bones in his face.All of this has rasised my sensitivity to the issue of head injuries in young athletes. In the past 10 years there has been considerable research into the natural course, and the risks of head injuries in children and young adults, all of it pointing to the fact that we have generally been far too cavalier about the seriousness of concussions. Several months ago the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published a detailed policy statement about sports-related concussions in children. Soon after, the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) also issued a position statement on sports concussions in adolescents and young adults. They define concussion as any injury that causes a rapid onset of short-term impairment of neurologic function. This includes anything from feeling woozy or foggy to being nauseous, having short term memory loss, all the way to being knocked unconscious. Concussions are a common consequence of trauma to the head in contact sports. American youths sustain concussions 3 million times a year and sports concussions are second only to motor vehicle accidents as a leading cause of traumatic brain injury. Most concussions are self-limited, but catastrophic results can occur if a second concussion occurs before recovery is complete. Both the AAP and the AAN recommend that children and young adults who sustain concussions should be removed from sporting activities immediately and should be assessed by a physician with training in evaluation and management of sports concussions. No athlete should return to participation in sports if he or she is experiencing any symptoms from a concussion and they should not return to play until they are entirely symptom-free. Coaches, parents and trainers need to have a high level of vigilance for monitoring concussion symptoms. Most experts also recommend using a postconcussion symptom scale to determine when an athlete can return to play. The scale includes everything from evaluation of cognition to emotional factors including sleep symptoms as well. Many athletes will downplay their symptoms in an attempt to return to play earlier than they should, but it is vitally important that they let the brain heal. The most important treatment for concussion is rest, both cognitive and physical. A week to 10 days is the minimum duration of rest recommended after a concussion, with longer periods of rest needed for more severe injuries. When a young athlete is ready to return to activity, a staged approach should be taken where initial activity involves light aerobic exercise and noncontact training drills with continued ongoing assessment. If a coach or athlete is resistant to rest, tell him or her that retuning too early and sustaining another injury can threaten the entire season and may even threaten live the life of a young athlete. Dr. Bill Elliott is assistant physician in chief for Kaiser Permanente's Novato office and Petaluma. His column appears every other Monday. http://nokiaphonesreview-123.blogspot.com/2010/12/new-firmware-v50121001-nokia-e71-inc.html http://nokiaphonesreview-123.blogspot.com/2010/12/new-firmware-v061005-nokia-c5-c5-00.html http://nokiaphonesreview-123.blogspot.com/2010/12/unboxing-nokia-x3-02-touch-type-best-of.html |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Content Keyword RSS To stop receiving these emails, you may | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment