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How dangerous is your Brain?
In 1994 the very first concussion guideline handbook was created to protect athletes from
any further injury post diagnosis and then develop a return to play program. Contact sports
account for close to ten percent of concussions each year (McGrath, 2010), and in the world of
athletic training many injuries come and go through the training room but none as serious as a
brain injury. As stated in the article the athletic trainer has the first say if an athlete is clear to
perform after a concussion is incurred and if cleared by the trainer the athlete must then see the
team physician who will examine them and diagnose accordingly (Lynall, 2014). The most
common injury, regardless of season or sport, is a concussion. It is defined as a type of traumatic
brain injury that is caused by a blow to the head or body, a fall, or another injury that jars or
shakes the brain inside the skull (WebMD, 2015). Over half a million athletes are diagnosed with
a concussion each year, 34 percent alone in football. A concussion is usually simple to identify,
but every player will display different signs and symptoms, require concussion treatment specific
to them, a unique return to play program, and a new concussion policy has been written.
Not every athlete is the same, from bone structure to muscle density, every individual is
different; therefore, no one concussion is exactly the same. But when looking for a concussion in
an athlete the symptoms are universal: brief loss of consciousness after the injury, memory
issues, confusion, drowsiness or feeling of sluggishness, dizziness, double or blurred vision,
headaches, nausea or vomiting, sensitivity to light or noise, balance problems, slowed reaction to
stimuli, and dilated pupils. When a trainer first responds to an athlete with a head trauma those
are going to be the signs they look for, followed by several questions to check memory. One of
the most important pieces of information to find when examining the concussed athlete is if they
have had a previous concussion, if so, how many they have had? Each time an athlete suffers a
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concussion the amount of damage done to the brain is substantial and becomes more detrimental.
The first 24 hours of an athlete’s first concussion is the most critical, in these first few hours
there is the possibility that the athlete is hemorrhaging, which is usually accompanied by
worsening headaches and the dimensioning of vision. The athlete must then seek emergency
