When I visited the movie theatre last fall to see Concussion, I expected to receive a dose of entertainment, but I instead received a dose of reality. It told a true story about a forensic pathologist, Bennet Omahu, handles the autopsy of Mike Webster, former NFL player for the Pittsburgh Steelers. After close examination of the NFL player’s brain, he discovers that there is evidence of severe brain damage, which contrasts with the individual’s otherwise healthy body, so Omahu concludes that the death is due to chronic blows to the head, a disorder he identifies as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Now this movie contains action, drama, romance, and thrill, but it,arguably, more importantly sheds light on the dangerous effects of concussions.
According to WebMD, a concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury caused by a blow to the head or body, a hard fall, or basically anything else that shakes the brain inside the skull. Concussions are a unique injury, because the damage cannot necessarily be obvious. A concussion causes normal functions in the brain to malfunction. The people most susceptible to getting a concussion are athletes, with football, boxing, and soccer having higher rates of concussions.
Symptoms of concussion include headache, nausea, fatigue, memory problems, sleep disturbances, and mood dysregulation, according to the Brain Injury Research Institute. In many cases signs of a concussion appear right away, but they may not appear until a couple days later. This makes diagnosing a concussion difficult, and it leads to additional risks if it is not treated immediately post-impact.
More research on the long-term effects of concussions has investigated the dangers of repeated concussions than the lasting complications of a single concussion. Research has concluded that repeated concussions are especially damaging in regards to long-term health. Some long-term consequences of repeated concussions include
- Cognitive impairment
- Anxiety disorders (PTSD)
- Learning interference (spatial learning)
- Depression
- Motor dysfunction
- Memory deficits
- Alzheimer’s Disease
- Mood Instability
When I was watching Concussion, I was amazed to see how seriously Webster’s life fell apart. We was pictured suffering from self-mutilation and homelessness, and he ended up dying alone. Realizing that this is the experience for many people due to CTE makes the severity of concussions seem much more real.
This understanding directed my curiosity to learn more about concussions and how they affect the brain. According to a 2014 article in Neurosurgery, brain injury leads to damaged axons (part of the neuron that transmits a signal to another neuron).
The axons get stretched so that calcium and sodium ions enter into the cell, and this leads to excess excitatory neurotransmission. The mitochondria goes into hypermetabolism to try to restore the balance and ultimately goes into hypometabolism because it has entered an energy crisis. Concussion also leads to an accumulation of abnormal proteins in the brain.
The Sports Concussion Institute has developed a graduated “Return to Play” protocol that details the rehabilitation stages a player must go through to return to playing their sport after a concussion. This management plan has been challenged by the “Return to Learn” protocol, which insists that players must be reintegrated to academics before athletics after a concussion, according to the Brain Injury Association of America.
It is advancements like these that will help individuals properly heal after a concussion before being back on the field with the risk of receiving another one.
I can’t imagine how hard it would be to get a concussion as a high school athlete. I would want to keep playing, no doubt. Protecting my brain for the sake of my long-term health wouldn’t be the first thing on my mind. Then to think of a professional athlete who might have devoted teammates and millions of fans depending on him or her, that would be even trickier.
As a culture, we need to balance our passion for competition with concern for future health. This will be a step in the right direction of enhancing lifelong health and reducing diseases that get in the way.
