New Thoughts on Concussions

After watching some pretty heart wrenching media pieces on concussions and the results they can lead to last week, I definitely have a more intensified view towards how cautious we should be about them happening, and also how they are treated after the injury. Concussions, and really all head injuries, are something that should be taken extremely seriously, and monitored heavily, in all sports, not just the ones heavy on contact.

The main thing that stuck out for me, as well as most of my other classmates since we talked about this a lot, was the second impact syndrome. I had never even heard of this condition and it seems like the most dangerous aspect of this entire issue, especially since younger folk are particularly susceptible. Since the injury is so serious and can turn fatal fairly rapidly and leaves most people who live through it disabled, it becomes infinitely important to take precaution in preventing putting athletes in a situation where it could happen.

The problem is, these things are often difficult to detect. The second impact could happen days, weeks or even months after the first one. This makes it very hard to detect if the athlete is still suffering from symptoms. In the case of the video we watched where the kid died, the kid said he was okay, the mother gave him the okay to play, his doctor gave him the okay to play, and clearly the coaches and players thought he was good to go. So how do we prevent SIS when it's hard to detect when the athlete is at risk? That becomes the question.

Clearly more must be learned about lingering symptoms and how we can the diagnose leftover effects of a concussion even months after the initial incident. It's such a fleeting thing and the slightest mistake could mean life or death. But like any issue, the main question is, 'where do you draw the line?' In this case, the line would be where we start over-preparing and taking too much precaution, if there is such a line in this case with the consequences being so severe.

When an athlete suffers a concussion do you sit them out all season? All year? When does it become safe to bring someone back. Is it ever? One of the concussion victims we saw who was left disabled said, "I could have sat out a season, and now I'll sit out the rest of my life." That is what is at stake here, but what if a player really is okay and they miss out on a prime chance to prove themselves to scouts, coaches, etc. which could lead to a future scholarship or lucrative career? How do we go about playing those who need to and sitting those who are at risk when we aren't always sure who falls under which category. That question almost comes down to a life vs. money issue.

Well, I've gone on for longer than I needed to. I'll have to just think these questions through. Until next time.