Concussions are one of the most common types of injury among young athletes, and they can be devastating not just to the child’s athletic career but also to their quality of life. At both the professional and scholastic levels, experts are recognizing the importance of improving football helmets to ward off potentially serious injuries. However, concussions can occur in nearly any sport.
While devastating at any age, concussions can be particularly traumatic to the young, who then may go on to suffer a lifetime of chronic pain, visual disturbances, migraines, auditory hallucinations and other neurological symptoms. Concussions can also lead to difficulty with cognition, which can hinder a young athlete’s future school and career prospects.
In some cases, severe head trauma can lead to behavioral changes, including outbursts of violent behavior. This not only hinders a young athlete’s relationships with friends and family but can even lead to trouble with the law.
One coach is taking concussions very seriously and going the extra mile to help prevent these injuries in young athletes. Coach Jared Saavedra owns a training business called Athlete Ready. He works with many student-athletes, primarily from nearby Manzano High School in Albuquerque, NM.
Saavedra’s training program focuses on strengthening the muscles around the neck, upper back and trapezius area to help the body naturally ward off future concussions. By exercising the neck, the shoulders and the back, student-athletes can use those muscles more effectively in stabilizing the head. This can help prevent the head from being violently struck back upon contact from an opponent or ball.
Obviously, Coach Saavedra’s method won’t prevent all concussions — however, any reduction in the number of concussions among young athletes could save lives.
A concussion is a type of mild brain stem injury — however, the long-term effects can be far from mild. When someone suffers a concussion, the brain bounces around within the skull cavity, causing both short- and long-term damage. Approximately 1.6 to 3.8 million concussions related to sports and recreation occur each year.
High school athletes who suffer concussion face longer recovery times as their brains are not yet fully matured and developed. Even more devastatingly, once an athlete suffers one concussion, they are three times more likely to face another concussion in the future. The accumulation of these brain injuries can turn deadly — brain injuries related to concussions cause anywhere from 65 to 95 percent of all sports fatalities.
When another type of neurological injury accompanies a concussion, such as damage to the spine, the severity of the situation only multiplies.
Not surprisingly, among male athletes, the majority suffer concussions due to football. Among female athletes, soccer is associated with the largest number of concussions.
But does this mean that parents should immediately withdraw their kids from these activities? Not necessarily. All activities carry some inherent risk. Simply running, walking or riding a bicycle can become a dangerous activity.
For that reason, it is critical that everyone involved in youth sports — parents, coaches and athletes alike — be aware of the signs of a concussion, which include nausea, fatigue and behavioral changes.
While it is difficult for medical professionals to immediately reverse the effects of concussion, seeking proper medical care ensures the patient will refrain from physical activity for a sufficient period to heal. Failure to seek medical attention can result in repeated concussions and even long-term brain damage.
Perhaps a new rule for participating in contact sports should be that all athletes perform specific exercises to strengthen their neck and back. When it comes to brain injury, an ounce of prevention truly is worth a pound of cure.
Kate is a health and political journalist. You can subscribe to her blog, So Well, So Woman, to read more of her work and receive a free subscriber gift! https://sowellsowoman.com/about/subscribe/