Concussion and Secondary Impact Syndrome

We get asked about the management of concussion in sport quite often, so I thought I would try to explain what it is and why rest and time off is VITALLY important!

If anyone follows American Football, you may have seen the head injury received by Tua Tagovailoa of the Miami Dolphins.

If you watched, it didn’t look like too hard a fall?  It wasn’t.  The problem was that he had already suffered a concussion the week before and did not take the necessary time off to recover.

He then suffered with secondary impact syndrome (SIS).  SIS can be extremely dangerous and in some cases fatal.  Why?…..Let me try to explain…

When you hit your head in sports such as rugby, BMX, martial arts etc your brain accelerates and decelerates inside your skull. If you imagine shaking a bowl of jelly back and forth, that is what it looks like! 

The impacting of the brain on the skull causes an injury to the brain, resulting in an electrical storm, far worse in SIS. You may suffer with balance issues, loss of memory, confusion, headache, vacant stare and disorientation to name a few.  The brain does not have full control of the nervous system at this point. 

During the period immediately after a concussion, the nervous system burns more energy than the body can produce leaving you and your brain tired! 

Studies show that full recovery time from a concussion is 22 to 30 days, during which time you should NOT participate in your sport. 

The number of concussions you suffer with is not necessarily the problem, it is the lack of recovery time in-between them.  Not having the recommended recovery time and suffering another concussion is where SIS comes in and can be extremely dangerous.

Research also shows that when your energy levels are low, you are at more risk of a concussion.

SO….the take home message from this blog is:

• If you suffer a concussion – take at least 3 to 4 weeks out of your sport

• 
  

• Learn the signs and symptoms of concussion to help your team mate

• 
  

• Don’t over train and run into fatigue problems if you play a contact sport or are likely to suffer a head injury.

Play smart – Play safe!