Concussions in Sport and Recreation

Taken From
http://www.hospitalsoup.com/test3/wp-content/uploads/
braininjuryl.jpg

So after researching for different articles relating to the topic of concussions I ran across one that caught my eye. This article had to do with the topic of concussions, and how they are prevalent within sports and recreation, having a particular emphasis on children with concussions in these highlighted areas.
This study talks about how their are approximately 30 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 that participate in organized sports. Also that in correlation, 85% of children that come into an emergency room for concussion treatment are there due to concussions received during sporting events. Sports like football and hockey are said in this report to be the primary sports associated with concussions, with wrestling and soccer being secondary contributing sports. Also this study talks about differing types of concussions. These two types of concussions are called simple, and complex. Simple concussions are said to last 7-10 days, whereas complex concussions can last up to a month or longer. A fact that I found quite interesting about this article was that susceptibility to concussions is thought to be linked to genetic factors. These factors are similar to the ones suspected to attribute to post-traumatic seizures. Within this article the discussion of assessment of concussions during game play is discussed. This is similar to the information that I wrote about in my last article, and they too outline the six steps necessary before return-to-play can be had. I found one statement particularly disturbing, and this was the lack of attention given to individuals who have received concussions by emergency room personal. Only treatment of visible problems are addressed, and the reference to see someone more qualified is only about 35%.
Concussions are still a mystery to the world of medicine. There are only subtle physiological effects that can be seen when a concussion occurs, therefore it makes them difficult to understand and diagnose. Their impact though can lead to define a person's life, mostly in a negative way. More research needs to be put into this subject so that the lives of many can be saved from such a horrible fate concussions can hold.