Last blog I shared my own journey with concussion and showed how easy it is to mismanage athletes who have been concussed. Today we take a step forward in the right direction and discuss how to appropriately address concussion.
It’s important for athletes, coaches and support staff to have a clear understanding of concussion and how to manage it. Too many athletes have had their careers - and tragically even their lives – cut short due to poor handling of concussion.
What is concussion?
Before we address concussion management, it’s important to understand what concussion actually is.
Concussion is a traumatic brain injury. Not just a head knock, or getting your bell rung.
A concussion can be caused by a direct blow to the head or rapid deceleration of the head and neck (e.g. whiplash). This force is transferred to the brain, which moves rapidly back and forth in the skull. This causes chemical changes in the brain and can damage brain cells.
These chemical changes are what cause our immediate signs and symptoms. These can include:
Headaches
Dizziness
Neck pain
Difficulty concentrating
Fatigue
Sensitivity to light
Sensitivity to noise
Forgetfulness
Irritability
Sadness
You do not have to lose consciousness to sustain a concussion. The severity of the concussion is not related to whether you experienced loss of consciousness or not.
How do we manage concussion?
When an athlete sustains a concussion (or suspected concussion), they must be removed from the field of play IMMEDIATELY. The first priority is to get medical help, whether at an emergency clinic, a GP or sport doctor. It is the medical team’s role to diagnose a concussion and set the return to play protocol in motion.
The following table provides the stages of concussion management and approximate timeframes. These timeframes are not rigid – athletes must complete 24 hours at the current stage without recurrence of symptoms before progressing to the next stage. If an athlete experiences an increase in symptoms, they must regress to the previous stage for at least 24 hours to allow the brain to recover.
For further information on the concussion return to play protocol, visit https://www.concussioninsport.gov.au/home
It is essential that the medical team (GP, sports doctor, physio) and the support staff (coaches, managers, S&C) have clear communication with the athlete and each other throughout the journey. Collaboration is essential to ensure the athlete has the smoothest and most effective recovery from their concussion.
An athlete must be medically cleared before returning to full training, and again prior to returning to play. No athlete should be allowed to play without a complete formal medical review and clearance. The risks are too great.
What if my symptoms aren’t easing?
Concussion symptoms lasting more that 4 weeks need to be treated as seriously as the concussion itself. Post-concussion syndrome occurs when symptoms last longer than expected after an injury, and can have significant consequences on an athlete’s sport, education and life.
In these cases it can be helpful to see a physio with experience in post-concussion syndrome.
They can address the causes of your symptoms and help you retrain your body and brain to function as optimally as possible.
By Jess Bell
We’d love to hear from you and answer any questions.
Or click through to book an appointment with Jess who has experience in treating post concussion syndrome.
Formotion Physio is a boutique Physiotherapy practice based in Perth, with locations in West Perth, Joondalup & Osborne Park.
