What is a concussion?
A concussion is an alteration in mental status due to the brain shaking inside its protective skull. A concussion does not require a direct blow to the head, and can occur with or without loss of consciousness.
Source: The American Academy of Neurology and the Brain Injury Association
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A concussion is an alteration in mental status due to the brain shaking inside its protective skull. A concussion does not require a direct blow to the head, and can occur with or without loss of consciousness. |
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Symptoms: Early symptoms of concussion include headache, dizziness or vertigo, lack of awareness of surroundings, and nausea and vomiting. Late symptoms of concussion include persistent low grade headache, lightheadedness, poor attention and concentration, memory dysfunction, easy fatiguability, irritability and low frustration tolerance, intolerance of bright lights or difficulty focusing vision, intolerance of loud noises, occasional ringing in the ears, anxiety and depressed mood, and sleep disturbance.
Cause: Concussion commonly results from trauma to the head during contact sports. However it can result from collisions or falls in any form of activity. Repeated concussions have been shown to cause impaired concentration, slurred speech, and memory loss, even when incidents are separated by months or years. An athlete with a history of concussion is more likely to suffer a concussion during a game/match than an athlete who has never had one.
Evaluation and Treatment: All athletes suspected of sustaining a concussion during competition should undergo a thorough evaluation which is usually conducted by an athletic trainer or a physician. A sideline evaluation is useful for probing for deficits in attention, concentration and memory, and determining fitness to return to play. The diagnosis and treatment of post-concussion symptoms, such as loss of memory and concentration, is often the domain of neurologists and neurosurgeons.
Rate of Concussion: In wrestling the rate of concussion is 0.2 per 1,000 athlete-exposures. To give a comparison, the highest rate in sports is ice hockey at .27 per 1,000 followed closely by football and soccer at .25 per 1,000. These rates are from the NCAA injury surveillance study.
The risk of returning early: Second impact syndrome is thought to be the result of a second concussion occurring while the individual is still symptomatic from an earlier concussion. Of the 10 documented cases of second impact syndrome, 9 result in the death of the athlete and 1 athlete remains in a permanent vegatative state (coma).
This page last updated
03/08/07
by Alan Leduc
©Indiana State Wrestling Association