Concussions, the invisible illness

Concussions, in college and high school sports have taken an all time high in 2022

Cook STAFF WRITER

The brain is the control center for the body, like a computer and it’s core. Concussions are the movement of the brain hitting against the skull, and they have become one of the most common sports injuries today.

In the United States alone, about 3.8 million people get concussions. Five to ten percent of that 3.8 million are from sports-related injuries, according to the University of Michigan Concussion Center. While technology is evolving to make the injury less likely to occur, somehow, we’re at an all time high this year in professional football.

As technology advances help ensure the safety of players, there is still a problem with the number of head injuries around the NFL.

As the 2022-23 season wraps up, studies show that the NFL is at an all time high for head injuries. Reports are showing numbers north of 135 head injuries as of week 17. These concussion injuries have varied from mild to severe on the field, and clips have shown players not being able to walk due to their bodies tensing up, while others are more mild and are just a little dizzy and unable to focus.

While experts are trying to find better ways to keep the players safe, there’s still a major concern surrounding concussions in the NFL, as well as high school football

Senior football player Dyelan Arnold, a victim of concussions, described his story from his injury.

“I could barely open my eyes. I was sitting in a dark room. I couldn’t sleep, it was so bad. I don’t even remember talking to my dad about it,” Arnold said.

Concussions don’t only come from football, and they can come from all types of sports, including dance, cheer, soccer, and basketball.

Junior Samantha Pell suffered a concussion during the 2022 spring soccer season and shared her experience.

“It made it really difficult to watch my teammates all play, and I can’t play with them,” Pell said.

On top of missing out on important sports events and experiences, concussions can cause lasting damage to the brain and how it makes a person’s body function. Patients can suffer from issues like hand-eye coordination, short or long term memory loss, and post concussive syndrome.

Post-concussive syndrome occurs when the effects from a mild-traumatic brain injury last longer than expected. Symptoms for post-concussive syndrome include headaches, dizziness, fatigue, concentration, and memory problems that can last from a couple months to a few years.

Contrary to popular belief, Dr. Nathan Fitton believes staying in a dark room and not doing anything isn’t an effective way to treat a concussion.

Fitton says that patients who hang out with their friends, and return to light activities earlier on have a faster recovery than those who don’t. Patients can return to activities as long as they don’t have the risk of being hurt again and it doesn’t make their symptoms worse. It’s also been recommended to patients to wear color tinted glasses like rose or amber colored glasses instead of dark sunglasses.

Overtime, the wearing of dark glasses can cause more light sensitivity and prolong concussion symptoms rather than improve them.

Some myths about concussions are that a person has to lose consciousness to have a concussion which is not true seeing as though 90% of people don’t lose consciousness, according to the U of M Concussion Clinic. Concussion symptoms also do not appear right away, many develop hours after the concussion occurs similar to Arnold’s experience.

“I remember everything from the events. It didn’t start to hurt until I finally got home,” Arnold said.

The effects of concussions, are often prevelant even hours after the injury. Athletic trainers are in schools to help students with injuries including concussions, to help them heal from these injuries and get them back onto the field.

With concussion rates rising in sports, staying informed about causes, effects, treatments and prevention is one step in lowering the number of injuries during the season.

“We have like a pretty intense procedure here through the athletic department and through our like athletic trainers. So if we have a girl who has a concussion, the amount of time that they’re out can be like extensive because they have to keep retesting. So concussion protocols have changed.”

My Story

On Oct. 4, I was at my dance studio participating in a stunt and got elbowed in the face, breaking my nose. I went to urgent care and they didn’t even think to check for a concussion. It wasn’t until a week later that it was diagnosed. For a week, I stayed home from school and slept. I was then referred to Dr. Jason Chesney from Mid-Michigan ENT, who told me I would need surgery.

A couple weeks after the surgery, I was still suffering from concussion symptoms where I was then diagnosed with postconcussive syndrome by Dr. Nathan Fitton. I was referred to physical, occupational and speech therapy. I have been going to therapy since November and just graduated from physical therapy and occupational therapy but still have to attend speech therapy due to my lack of retaining new information.

Everyone’s story is different and having post-concussive syndrome while dancing is still a challenge for me. Learning to adapt and grow and heal from this experience has been emotionally and physically draining, and it’s been hard to keep my motivation.

Concussions aren’t just hitting your head. Even getting hit in the face can cause lasting damage. Everyone heals differently, and giving people time to recover while not expecting them to be perfect is the best thing for the mental health of the patient.

“I think the thing that we always try to emphasize with the athlete [about] their brain is they get one. And while missing a game or a practice, or however long it takes, might be disappointing, it's more important for them to be able to function later in life.”

“You can't prevent concussions, but you can limit them and their impact through proper neck training and strength training. But it's tough. You know, if player brain injuries are real, and you lose those players for some time, and you have to make adjustments as a coach, but obviously the health of the athlete is our primary concern.”

“We do a lot of neck exercises in the off-season, because that’s kind of like your shock. We do prep kids in terms of how to tackle, how to make sure our body is ready to absorb those hits so that we can keep the concussions down. Our helmets are top notch - like five-star rated.”