The symptoms listed above normally regress and disappear after a while assuming no further concussion are suffered. However, the real issues (which is starting to surface in professional sports, especially in the NFL) are the long-term, pathophysiological effects of multiple concussions. The short-term effects of repetitive concussions include altered cellular metabolism, impaired neurotransmission, impaired ion regulation, and reduction in cerebral blood flow. It is important to note though that these chronic neurological effects are not well understood but it is believed that they can go as far as lead to a likelihood of developing Alzheimers's disease (See this article: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16239884). It is especially scary to see that retired players with 3 or more reported concussions had a fivefold prevalence of a MCI (mild cognitive impairment) diagnosis and a three fold increase in reported significant memory problems. No direct association between recurrent concussion and Alzheimer's disease was found. What is startling is that after your first concussion the risk of another is dramatically increased and somehow this increased vulnerability (which most athletes will shrug off and ignore, raising a new question to what about the non reported concussion) can dramatically impact brain function.
Take a look at these articles to see how today's professional sports leagues are "tackling" (pun intended) the issue of concussions and their dangerous long-term effects:
1. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2007-06-18-concussions-cover_N.htm
2. http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d8104d786&template=without-video-with-comments&confirm=true
3. http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/f/football/head_injuries/index.html
This is really interesting, thanks for posting! I know we had briefly mentioned this topic in class and I was very intrigued by it. It definitely seems like a important area of research such concussions are a relatively common injury in the world today (and especially in the field of sports). If significant relationships and correlations are being discovered between the number of concussions and later onset of neurological problems, then we need to do what we can to try to reduce to number of these injuries that occur as much as possible. Or maybe come up with better ways to decrease that onset of later problems. It also seems as if this issue of concussions put people into a vicious cycle: after they have one, their chances of having another are greatly increased, which in turn greatly increases their chances of later neurological problems.
ReplyDeleteI also found this interesting since I have suffered 3 concussions (two playing football in college and one playing flag football about 2 months ago) and also because of the recent research shedding more light on the effects of concussions farther down the line. I don't remember what report it was that I read and I am unable to find it (maybe some MCI as a result of my concussions), but it said they saw evidence of brain degeneration even in brain samples of football players that did not have a reported concussion. This brings up the question of if these players actually had concussions and did not report them because they wanted to continue to play or if these results were from repeated sub-concussive forces to the head. Probably a mixture of both.
ReplyDeleteI also think it is interesting what is considered a concussion now and how they are educating coaches and players about the risks of returning to play too early. I remember when I was younger, a mild concussion was called getting your bell rung, and when you got your bell rung you sat out a play or two and went back in.
I'm right there with Gabriel in expressing interest on this topic since I have also had a couple of concussions from Diving. The most recent concussion I suffered was last year and I can definitely relate to the susceptibility of getting a second concussion much easier after the first. It was only 2 months after my first concussion where yet again I got another one, only 4 weeks after I was cleared for my first one.
ReplyDeleteThis year I've been lucky enough to have avoided them even if the sports physicians and trainers advise against Diving off of the 10 meter platform. Insubordination is a big issue with athletes as I have come to witness simply because seasons are short and you want to contribute as much as you can before that time is up but the brain is not like a pulled muscle that you can just walk off.
One of the physicians that had treated me for my concussions had given me a number of stress tests to determine if I was 100% ready to go and nothing less. He was worried about post-concussion syndrome which could even be more detrimental to the season because it could last much longer. Pride can take a seat on the sidelines when your brain is involved. You definitely can't shoot it up with cortisone and call it a day. One of my teammates made the mistake of hiding the symptoms of a concussion and now she is constantly at the neurologists doing eye tracking and depth perception exercises. I feel like the phrase "It's better safe than sorry" applies well here. It would be neat if the brain acted like bone after a fracture, healing back to form a more rigid and sturdy form, yet knowing that there could be a correlation between future MCI and even dementia with concussions is a scary thought. Some sports medicine enthusiasts recommend athletes to take L-Carnitine for enhanced brain function during workout... though it seems very far fetched it would be interesting to see a study between such supplementing with dementia patients, patients with concussions, or patients suffering from other neurodegenerative diseases.