Introduction
Concussion is a form of a traumatic brain injury that is considered to be of a mild form. Traumatic brain injuries are forms of sudden injuries on the head that penetrates and cause damage to the brain. This paper seeks to discuss concussions and physical activities. The paper will look into the origin of concussions, their symptoms and treatment, physical aspects as well as its psychological aspects.
History of Concussions
Concussion is an element of traumatic brain injury and has been in existence for a long time. Reference to traumatic brain injury is made to periods of as early as the nineteenth century. Brain injuries have been identified and medical measures developed to help people who incur such injuries.
Knowledge about traumatic brain injury has been in development since the nineteenth century when there were increased cases of injuries that were associated with the brain. Measures such as pathophysiology have been developed and were being offered to those who suffered from such injuries. Developments of antiseptics that penetrated into the brain were the only available remedy for such injuries (David et al. 1).
Causes of concussion
Injuries caused to the brain occur following a violent impact that “causes the brain to collide with the inside of the skull” (Traumatic 1) which results in disruptions in the operations of the brain (Traumatic 1). Major identified causes of concussion include accidents, falls and sports activities that involve violent physical impacts among players such as football, rugby among others (Traumatic 1).
Another cause of traumatic brain injury is the motor vehicle accidents. Motor vehicle accidents result in sudden motions and impacts that can cause brain injuries. During an accident, a person’s head can be “stricken, suddenly jerked, or penetrated by a foreign object” (Brain 1). If such effects pass to the brain, then a traumatic brain injury may occur. The injury may be mild or severe depending on the degree of fatality of the accident. Mild injuries may be temporary with inflicted short time unconsciousness while a severe traumatic brain injury causes prolonged and more extreme effects to the injured person.
Motor vehicle accidents cause a significantly large percent of total traumatic brain injuries recorded. A research conducted by Atlanta Nation Center for injury prevention and control conducted in the year 2006 indicated that at least twenty percent of the recorded traumatic brain injuries were due to motor vehicle accidents. In the research, over a million cases of traumatic injuries were realized to have been reported in America out of which almost three hundred thousand were caused by motor vehicle accidents.
Brain injuries encountered in these accidents constituted the most severe category of traumatic brain injuries. This can be attributed to the fact that most of these accidents lead to high level impacts that exert a lot of physical pressure on the skull and thus the brain (Brain 1).
The effect of the motor vehicle accidents that leads to traumatic brain injuries results from biological properties of the brain that demands coordination among its cells. One of the essential elements of this coordination is the nerve system. In an event of an accident, this system may be strained due to pressure from sudden movement of the head or even collision of the head with objects in the vehicle or outside the vehicle in the process of the accident.
The brain then loses coordination resulting in the injury. Another significant cause of traumatic brain injuries is falls. Though its effects are occasionally less severe, falls cause more cases of traumatic brain injuries as compared to motor vehicle accidents. While motor vehicle accidents cause about twenty percent of brain injuries in America, falls cause close to thirty percent.
Falls can occur when a person slips or flips from a high level off the ground. It can also occur as a result of a violent encounter between people in a fight or in social activities such as games. Falls account for a higher percentage of the injuries because they can occur even in domestic environments in the form of minor accidents. The extent of a brain injury as a result of a fall also varies depending on the nature of the falls. Injuries due to falls are, however, considered to be milder than those due to motor vehicle accidents (Brain 1).
Diagnosis and treatment of concussion
Diagnosis of concussion and traumatic brain injuries at large is accounted for if its symptoms are significantly realized in a patient. Some of the symptoms of brain injuries are similar to those of other complications and thus care should be taken before diagnosis to avoid confusing brain damage with other medical complications. One of the key characteristics of traumatic brain injury is “confusion and disorientation” of the victim (CDC 8). Unconsciousness that lasts for a long period of time is a feature that is associated with concussions.
The interference of the nerve systems in the brain causes lapses that send the victim into long durations of unconsciousness that can last to about half an hour. Higher susceptibility to coma is also an indicator that can lead to concussion being considered. Though all states of coma are not indicators of the brain damage, higher scales, normally rated at thirteen and above, have been associated with traumatic brain injury.
Experiences such as “amnesia and neurological problems” (CDC 8) also points to possibility of brain injury (CDC 8). Other symptoms such as “headaches, dizziness, insomnia, fatigue, nausea, blurred vision, seizures” (CDC 8) together with changes in a person’s behavior such as “irritability, depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance” (CDC 8) among other characteristic symptoms are indicators of the presence of concussion (CDC 8).
Care should however be taken before conclusive diagnosis into traumatic brain injury is pronounced because most of these symptoms are, independently or in some cases jointly, experienced in other complications (CDC 8).
Developments have not yet been made into a specific treatment of concussions. Damages caused by head injury to people vary to a great extent and a range of care is therefore necessary for the victims subject to specific brain damages. With no availability of treatment, victims are left to the possibility of recovery if their injuries do not cause death. Mild injuries are recognized to respond to recovery care and this has led to a large percentage of victims regaining their complete health after suffering mild concussions.
It has been established that more than half of victims of mild to moderate concussions recover under counseling on how to deal with the injuries. Medical services are however available for controlling and treating other aspects of external injuries suffered in order to minimize brain injuries. Measures of preventing further damage to the brain such as treating the injured part of the head are normally undertaken to control the extent of brain injury (National Institute 1).
Medical care that is available to victims of concussions is therefore control measure to help in reducing the degree of damage as well as associated impacts of the injury (National Institute 1). Preventive measures are therefore the only sure alternative for controlling traumatic brain injury.
Taking precautions to avoid or reduce accidents as well as their impacts is an effective measure in controlling concussions (CDC 1). In an event of a mild case of concussion leading to “bad headache, a feeling of being confused (dazed), or unconsciousness” (New York Times 1), a patient is supposed to be examined by a medical practitioner who can then determine when the patient can return to sports or any other exposure to causes of concussion (New York Times 1).
Physical aspects of concussion
Aspects of concussion can be discussed from two perspectives: its physical perspectives and its psychological perspectives. Physical aspects are those elements that are related to the body structure and not to the mental capacity. Concussion, in its occurrence exhibits a lot of features that are related to the physical properties of the body. The causes of concussion are, for example, entirely physical. It has been established that brain injuries are caused by a physical mechanism in which the brain encounters a bombardment with the skull.
That movement of the brain relative to the skull, which results into the collision, is a pure physical process. Contrary to biological locomotive processes like involuntary muscular movements such as that encountered in inhalation and exhalation, the brain and skull movement that leads to the injury is an externally instigated mechanism.
From the cause of the injury that could be collision between players in a game, falls or even involvement in an accident, the bombardment of the head with an object or a sudden movement of the head that leads to disturbance remains to be a physical process. The effect of these disturbances is equally transmitted into the brain in a physical manner. The cause of concussion is therefore an entirely physical process (Traumatic 1).
Concussion is also characterized by quiet a number of physical impacts on its victims. A person who suffers from concussion is, for example, identifiable with a problem of slow response during conversations as well as comprehension and response to directives given to the victim. This is a change that is realized after someone has suffered from a concussion. The change in response is normally significant and can be realized as the victim of concussion will take a longer time than previously or normally taken.
The same lapse in response to directives will be realized in these victims as they tend to take a longer time to coordinate messages being passed to them before they can respond. A footballer or any other player who plays after suffering from concussion, and prior to recovery, might for example delay in response, fail to take a timely play thereby giving opponents an attacking advantage (Medicine 1).
Poor concentration has also been an identifiable factor in victims of concussion. A person who suffers from the mild brain injury shows some tendencies of being diverted from subject objectives at particular times. Cases of a person failing to identify an occurrence like speech directed to him or her have been common with victims of concussion.
Characteristics of absent mindedness and application of a lot of strain as the victim tries to engage in interactions are reported. These effects caused by inefficient coordination of activities of the brain are as a result of the damage that the brain suffers during the impacts that leads to the concussion.
A victim of concussion may also experience a change in his or her speech which may be significantly different from how the person communicated before suffering from brain injury. A characteristically slower speech is normally associated with concussion: “emotional liability and personality changes” (Medicine 1) are also some of the physical aspects that are associated with concussion (Medicine 1). Headaches and nausea have similarly been reported among victims of minor traumatic brain injuries (IOL 1).
The injury to the brain which has been medically identified to be functional rather than being on the brain structure is reported to have impacts on the head in the form of headaches. Feelings of discomfort in the stomach have also been reflected by people who suffer from brain injuries (Larkin 1).
Physical aspects of concussion are as well realized in its prevention measures. Being a physical process in terms of how it is acquired, measures of controlling or eliminating concussion primarily depends on physical strategies. Steps such as educating sportsmen and women on how best to avoid concussions are an important component of controlling the types of injuries such as those caused in sports. Sufficient care being taken can prevent, to a great extent, violent collisions in some sports.
This can specifically be helpful in sports such as football and hokey in which uttermost care can highly prevent injuries obtained through rough tackles from opponent players or instruments used in the games. Taking care, for instance, by avoiding collisions of heads or hitting of opponents’ heads can also help in controlling concussions. Provisions of protective devices to players while inside the pitch can also help in reducing effects of impacts during games (Hagemann 1).
When intensity of impacts of collisions is reduced, the effect that is transmitted into the head is also controlled hence reducing the chances of a player being injured in the head. Such protective devices also reduce the extent to which injuries can be suffered by a player.
Development of techniques used in sports can also play a significant role in controlling the number and frequency of brain injuries encountered in sports. Initiatives by coaches and trainers to impact players with newly developed techniques which are safe are another solution to the danger that has been facing participants in sports.
An initiative to reduce these injuries together with its supervision and management has equally been identified as a step towards prevention and reduction of the number of reported cases of concussion. Physical measures, if effectively put into consideration and subsequently implemented can play a very crucial role in controlling concussion as well as other traumatic brain injuries (Powel 1).
The process of treating or dealing with concussion has also been given a physical approach. Measures that include a complete rest of the victim by avoiding any source of a significant distraction or strain are recognized to help patients in the process of healing after suffering from a head injury.
Refraining victims from exposing themselves to activities that can cause head injuries is also another measure used to ensure an uninterrupted healing process. Legislations have even been considered to restrict sportsmen and women who suffer from traumatic brain injuries to only return to participation in sports subject to approval by a certified health practitioner. In general, concussion has a significant physical aspect in its cause, symptoms, prevention as well as its treatment (Sports 1).
Psychological aspects of concussion
Psychology has been developed and integrated in sports to help in the development of player’s participation in any given professional sport. In Canada for example, the acculturation of psychology in sports has been recognized and even made to be part of “Kinesiology and physical education programs” (McGill 1).
Involvement of psychology in sports has been adopted to help players “understand psychological and social factors on an individual’s behavioral outcomes” (McGill 1) as well as to “understand how participation in sports and exercise influence psychological and social developments, health and well being” (McGill 1).
There should be an integration of psychology in sports (McGill 1). It has been established and agreed upon among psychologists that knowledge and skills that individuals poses play a significant role in how they respond to issues as well as how they succeed in handling issues.
Impacting players with information on how they can solve, handle or even cope up with straining issues that face them in their sporting careers will therefore play a crucial role in how they can deal with setbacks that include injuries such as traumatic brain injuries (Traumatic 1).
There being no established or specific cure for concussion, a victim relies on his or her ability to have patience with the recovery process as well as being psychologically prepared to deal with any impact that concussion may cause. A psychologically informed and prepared person will, for example, be calm and wait for a full recovery process before any exposure to a possible threat of an injury.
Psychological preparedness can also help an individual in copping up with disabilities that can be caused by concussion. Cases of psychological immaturity can lead to players loosing hope in life if they are barred from playing when they have undergone concussions. Psychology therefore plays an important role in the lives of players especially in the cases where the players are victims of concussions (Barker 1).
Once an athlete is injured and diagnosed with concussion, the first step is the elimination of the player from sports. Even though the withdrawal of a player from participation in sports is on medical grounds to offer the player time for recovery, the victims normally suffer from isolation from their respective teams (Sports 1). A person who is, for example, hospitalized or put under rehabilitation facilities will most likely be isolated from team mates and friends who would at the same time be engaged in their daily lives’ activities.
This isolation has an impact of psychologically which will likely have a torturing effect on the patient. Some of the symptoms of concussions are also regarded to be psychological. Reactions by a victim of concussion such as “anger, denial, depression, distress, shock and guilt” (Bloom et al. 1) are psychological. Concussion therefore induces psychological reactions to its victims just as it does in inducing physical reactions (Bloom et al. 1).
The effects of players’ psychological attitudes again play an important element in the overall health of a player who has suffered from concussion. A player who is only focused on returning to the field would for example lie that symptoms of concussion have disappeared when the player is actually not yet recovered. This mostly occurs if a player is not psychologically mature enough to accept the injury and take enough rest to recovery (Kontos et al. 225).
Recommendations
Following the psychological aspects of concussion, a practitioner faced with a challenge of an athlete who wants to engage in a physical activity prior to recovery should refer the athlete for psychological counseling to help the athlete understand the situation and dangers involved.
Conclusion
Concussion is a form of a minor traumatic brain injury. Its cause is basically physical though its symptoms and impacts together with its control exhibit both physical and psychological factors. It is advisable that concussions are avoided at all costs but in case they are incurred then it is very significant that enough rest is observed before one return to active sports.
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