- Concussions can happen to anyone at any time
- Whether you are an athlete or not, anyone can experience a concussion. Most of the time, concussions occur by falling and hitting the head. I once fell while ice skating with my family and was out for a minute or two. While never diagnosed, I am sure I experienced a brain injury. But it does not always have to include impact to the skull. Whiplash from car crashes are also a common way to receive a head injury. Our brain is not fixated in place, so when there’s a sudden movement, the brain collides into the skull and experiences injury.
- Not just young people get concussions. Older people are actually more likely to fall because they are not as stable. Once they fall, doctors are more concerned about the broken bones, rather than the brain. Ignoring a cranial injury can possibly lead to experiencing a second injury, which can be fatal. Another fact that is often looked over is the idea that several elderly people are put on blood thinners. If they have a blow to the head, it is not unlikely that they will have a brain bleed and possibly die.
- Whether you are an athlete or not, anyone can experience a concussion. Most of the time, concussions occur by falling and hitting the head. I once fell while ice skating with my family and was out for a minute or two. While never diagnosed, I am sure I experienced a brain injury. But it does not always have to include impact to the skull. Whiplash from car crashes are also a common way to receive a head injury. Our brain is not fixated in place, so when there’s a sudden movement, the brain collides into the skull and experiences injury.
- Concussions are invisible
- It’s difficult to physically see if someone has had a concussion. There are some symptoms that help to identify the issue, such as, dilated pupils, headaches, sensitivity to light, trouble concentrating, etc. However, these symptoms can also be factors of other difficulties in the body, as well. It is easy to ignore concussions and say that someone is fabricating that they are injured because it is hard to determine that something is wrong.
- When someone has a concussion, there is a stretch in the brain membrane after impact and there is an efflux of K+ and an influx of Ca2+. The influx of Ca2+ results in increased glutamate release which results in excitotoxicity. The overwhelming amount of glutamate increases ATPase activity, as the enzyme attempts to put K+ back inside the cell and Ca2+ on the outside. This issue of too much glutamate also creates hypermetabolism, increased redox and protease activation. This causes an energy crisis within the body, the NF to collapse, and then the microtubules disrupts axon transport. This prevents neuronal messages from being communicated to the rest of the body.
- It’s difficult to physically see if someone has had a concussion. There are some symptoms that help to identify the issue, such as, dilated pupils, headaches, sensitivity to light, trouble concentrating, etc. However, these symptoms can also be factors of other difficulties in the body, as well. It is easy to ignore concussions and say that someone is fabricating that they are injured because it is hard to determine that something is wrong.
- Concussions hurt YOUR BRAIN!!!
- We only get one brain. The brain controls every action in the body. It is important to note that unlike bones, neurons rarely ever get repaired after a serious injury. Therefore, if we are not careful, we can lose a lot of our function if we are not careful after a hit to the head. It is important to rest and not put the brain through any more trauma. If hurt doing a sport, it is essential to wait until fully healed (estimated to take 3 months to recover) to return to the activity again. I know it is difficult to sit out for that long from doing what you love to do, but it’s important to do so, in order to eventually be able to do those things again.
If you believe you have a concussion, please go to a neurologist and stop doing anything that will harm the brain!!
Live life, play safe.
