If Your Children Plan to Play School Sports This Year, Educate Yourself Now

Posted on July 28, 2009. Tags: concussions, sports injuries, sports medicine

Child playing football Parents of children involved in athletics are advised to educate themselves and their children about head injury and concussion before the season begins.

“The diagnosis and treatment of concussions and their long-term effects on athletes continue to be an evolving discipline,” said R. Robert Franks, D.O., Assistant Director of Sports Medicine and Director of the Concussion Program at the Cooper Bone & Joint Institute.

A concussion is a mild, traumatic brain injury – a disturbance of function of the nerve cells in the brain – caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head, or that radiates to the head from the trunk or neck. The injury is particularly common in contact sports, such as football and soccer.

Concussions range in severity, but they all share one common factor: They temporarily interfere with the way the brain works. They can affect memory, judgment, reflexes, speech, balance and coordination.

It’s important to remember that concussions can occur without loss of consciousness. In fact, most people who get a concussion never lose consciousness. Because signs and symptoms can be subtle, many people may have suffered a concussion and never realized it. Symptoms don’t always occur right away.

“Some signs and symptoms may be immediate but others can occur hours, days or even weeks later,” said Dr. Franks.

“Initial symptoms may include headache, dizziness, sensitivity to light or noise, vomiting, vision changes, disorientation and nausea. Later symptoms may include fatigue, concentration or memory problems, sleep disturbances, irritability, sluggishness and personality changes,” said David B. Gealt, D.O., Assistant Director of the Concussion Program at the Cooper Bone & Joint Institute.

Fortunately, most concussions are mild and people usually recover fully. Complete mental and physical rest is required for the brain to heal. This can often take several days or longer.

But serious complications can arise in severe cases, so any trauma to the head, face or neck should be watched carefully.

If you suspect your child athlete has a concussion, seek medical attention to determine the severity of the injury. Athletes who aren’t fully recovered from an initial concussion are significantly vulnerable for recurrent, cumulative, and even catastrophic consequences if a second concussive injury occurs.

The best way to prevent difficulties is to manage the injury properly when it does occur.

“The advice we can give parents who have children involved in athletics is to get them a baseline brain function test,” Dr. Gealt said.

Sports Medicine specialists suggest that all athletes get a baseline brain function test prior to the season and within days after a head injury. The test would help physicians decide when a child should return to play by comparing the baseline test results to later test results.

The Cooper Bone & Joint Institute is a credentialed provider of ImPACT, a computerized brain function test that measures brain processing, speed, memory and visual motor skills. The technology is used by many national sports teams and is considered most useful in identifying the effects of concussion.

In fact, the Cooper Bone & Joint Institute is the only hospital in South Jersey that offers the ImPACT technology, as well as a specialized program in the evaluation, diagnosis, treatment and management of minor traumatic brain injuries. Its physicians are all credentialed ImPACT providers.

Dr. Gealt is a delegate to the Brain Injury Association of New Jersey, and Dr. Franks is a representative of the New Jersey Osteopathic Physicians Society to the Brain Injury Association of New Jersey.

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To schedule an appointment with a Cooper University Physician at an office near you, call 1.800.8.COOPER (1.800.826.6737).

6 Responses to “If Your Children Plan to Play School Sports This Year, Educate Yourself Now”

My son will be starting tackle football next week. How can we get this baseline test done for him?

Andrew ODell on July 28, 2009 at 1:21 pm
I am a grandmother and wanted to know when a little toddler just learning to walk bumps his head or falls and hits his head hard, how dangerous is this and should you watch him for specific symptoms. Most times they cry , then continue playing, but as I’ve gotten older I am more concerned about head trauma.

Thank you
Monica

Monica Deacon on July 28, 2009 at 1:23 pm
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, for bringing this well needed topic out for discussion. We need to educate more coaches, parents, athletes and also many more of the health care professionals of the signs of concussions. If gone undetected can and does lead into more long term and harder to treat symptoms. Because the brain did not have the proper rest time. This should be discussed not only for school sports but also those many activities that our children are involved in with outside organizations. Sometimes the children in tackle football are more protected because of their helmets, but we tend to forget about those contact sports like cheerleading, gymnastics, and other sports where the child’s heads are not protected or that we may not necessarily categorize them automatically as a contact sport. We are a family experiencing exactly this problem and I would love to do my best to bring this to the attention of as many people as I can so that it can be taken more seriously.

Leslie McGuigan on July 29, 2009 at 8:49 am
Hello, Andrew: If your son attends a high school or college that has the ImPACT Program, he can have the test obtained there. It can also be done at Cooper Bone and Joint Institute in Voorhees, where the baseline test can be performed in the office. You can call Cooper’s physician referral service at 1-800-8-COOPER (800-826-6737) for more info.
Best Wishes. — Dr. R. Robert Franks

Denice Ferrarelli on July 29, 2009 at 11:40 am
Hello, Monica: Good question. Any child who hits his head or has a hit to the chest or neck that is transmitted to the head should be watched for symptoms of concussion. If the child is old enough to speak, you should look for complaints of headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, difficulty with concentration or memory and sensitivity to light or sound just to name a few. If the child does not have verbal skills yet, s/he should be looked at for non-verbal cues. See if the child is holding his head for a long period of time, being more irritable or fussy in association with holding his/her head, walking with an abnormal gait or shielding his eyes from bright light or ears from sound can clue one in to something that is more than just a simple bump on the head and should be seen by a physician as it may be a more serious issue such as the development of concussion.
All the best. — Dr. R. Robert Franks

Denice Ferrarelli on July 29, 2009 at 11:44 am
Dear Leslie: Thank you for your very important comments. Indeed, any activity involving the potential for head injury needs to be addressed the same as “contact sports.” Any child who hits his head or has a hit to the chest or neck that is transmitted to the head should be watched for symptoms of concussion, regardless of how the “hit “occurred.
Again, thank you. Good luck to you and your family.
– Dr. R. Robert Franks

Denice Ferrarelli on July 29, 2009 at 11:57 am