Reports are coming out of the Canadian province of Ontario indicating that the incidence of head injuries has gone up. Between the years 2003 and 2010, numbers of young people turning up in hospitals for concussion treatment in Toronto went up 50 percent. While this may be an indication that parents are becoming better informed about the risk of head injury, the increase is still cause for concern.
The Mayo Clinic defines concussion as a traumatic brain injury that alters the way the brain operates. Such alteration may be temporary or permanent and varies in severity. The symptoms include problems with balance, coordination and concentration or loss of memory. The seriousness of the injury does not always correlate with the level of symptoms. Even a slight blow to the head can cause serious or permanent damage.
The symptoms of concussion may be very subtle and may not present themselves for days, weeks or even months after the injury. They include loss of memory, headache and confusion. They may also include slurred speech, nausea and vomiting, ringing in the ears, seeing stars or a feeling of pressure inside the head. Toddlers and children may become irritable or cranky, cry excessively, display altered eating and/or sleeping patterns or lose interest in their favorite toys.
A trauma to the head does not have to seem serious in order to cause serious brain injury. Many sports players, when injured, insist on continuing to play after receiving a blow to the head. Sadly, this can end in tragedy, as the death of British actress Natasha Richardson, shortly after refusing treatment for a bump on the head while skiing.
People who take part in vigorous contact sports are particularly prone to concussive head injury, especially in the sport of hockey. In this sport, there is a defensive move called bodychecking in which the defensive player throws his entire body weight against the player who has the puck. The defender uses his or her hip, shoulder, upper arm and elbow to make contact.
In 2010, bodychecking involving the player's head or blind side was prohibited; this was to reduce the worrying numbers of concussions involving youngsters. To date, it does not appear to be working; rates of concussion are higher than ever. What is particularly alarming is that female players are suffering more concussions than male players. This is very odd because women's hockey does not permit bodychecking in any form.
The increase in numbers of concussions in female hockey players, and indeed sportswomen in general, is not confined to professional or even college players. Pee wee coaches of girls aged 9 and 10 are reporting high numbers of head injuries. Despite the absence of bodychecking in the women's game, women are experiencing similar, or even higher, levels of concussive head injury.
The chief of neurosurgery at a large Massachusetts hospital seems to believe that women may just be more vulnerable to concussion than men, and that there should be more research into this. Another possibility is that women do not work as hard to train their neck muscles as men do. This is most likely for cosmetic reasons. Women may also be more forthcoming about reporting head injuries.
The Mayo Clinic defines concussion as a traumatic brain injury that alters the way the brain operates. Such alteration may be temporary or permanent and varies in severity. The symptoms include problems with balance, coordination and concentration or loss of memory. The seriousness of the injury does not always correlate with the level of symptoms. Even a slight blow to the head can cause serious or permanent damage.
The symptoms of concussion may be very subtle and may not present themselves for days, weeks or even months after the injury. They include loss of memory, headache and confusion. They may also include slurred speech, nausea and vomiting, ringing in the ears, seeing stars or a feeling of pressure inside the head. Toddlers and children may become irritable or cranky, cry excessively, display altered eating and/or sleeping patterns or lose interest in their favorite toys.
A trauma to the head does not have to seem serious in order to cause serious brain injury. Many sports players, when injured, insist on continuing to play after receiving a blow to the head. Sadly, this can end in tragedy, as the death of British actress Natasha Richardson, shortly after refusing treatment for a bump on the head while skiing.
People who take part in vigorous contact sports are particularly prone to concussive head injury, especially in the sport of hockey. In this sport, there is a defensive move called bodychecking in which the defensive player throws his entire body weight against the player who has the puck. The defender uses his or her hip, shoulder, upper arm and elbow to make contact.
In 2010, bodychecking involving the player's head or blind side was prohibited; this was to reduce the worrying numbers of concussions involving youngsters. To date, it does not appear to be working; rates of concussion are higher than ever. What is particularly alarming is that female players are suffering more concussions than male players. This is very odd because women's hockey does not permit bodychecking in any form.
The increase in numbers of concussions in female hockey players, and indeed sportswomen in general, is not confined to professional or even college players. Pee wee coaches of girls aged 9 and 10 are reporting high numbers of head injuries. Despite the absence of bodychecking in the women's game, women are experiencing similar, or even higher, levels of concussive head injury.
The chief of neurosurgery at a large Massachusetts hospital seems to believe that women may just be more vulnerable to concussion than men, and that there should be more research into this. Another possibility is that women do not work as hard to train their neck muscles as men do. This is most likely for cosmetic reasons. Women may also be more forthcoming about reporting head injuries.