Concussions are on the rise in youth sports
Athletic trainers don't mess around with head injuries
Steve Coppola
Issue date: 12/4/08 Section: Sports
It's every parent's worst fear.
Seeing a son or daughter lying motionless on the ground during a youth sporting event is not something that anyone wants to witness.
However, the reality is that high-impact sports such as football, hockey, or lacrosse have a high risk of athletes suffering severe concussions.
According to eMedicineHealth.com, concussions are a serious medical problem that can ultimately lead to long-term memory loss, psychiatric disorders, and other neurological problems.
In the period following the concussion, it is common for athletes to suffer from headaches, nausea, dizziness, and sensitivity to light and noise.
"It's basically the brain's response to the injury," said Sacred Heart University assistant athletic trainer Ben Batchelder.
One potentially serious problem happens when athletes come back too soon from a concussion in which they still suffer from lingering symptoms.
"It's our job to identify when these symptoms are going on because if [the player] returns too soon there's an element known as Second Impact Syndrome [or SIS] and that's basically what all these athletes are suffering from that die," said Batchelder.
Although SIS doesn't happen very often, it has been known to happen and some athletes have even died from it.
On Oct. 19, ESPN ran a story on the popular show "Outside the Lines" in which Jaquan Waller, a junior running back from Greenville, N.C., passed away after suffering Second Impact Syndrome.
According to ESPN, Waller suffered a head injury at practice on Sept. 17. The school's injury specialist evaluated Waller later that day in which he used a standard concussion questionnaire to determine the severity of his concussion but did not feel further medical attention was required.
Two days later, Waller played in a game without seeing a doctor. After two carries, Jaquan left the field in pain and collapsed on the sidelines shortly thereafter.
Seeing a son or daughter lying motionless on the ground during a youth sporting event is not something that anyone wants to witness.
However, the reality is that high-impact sports such as football, hockey, or lacrosse have a high risk of athletes suffering severe concussions.
According to eMedicineHealth.com, concussions are a serious medical problem that can ultimately lead to long-term memory loss, psychiatric disorders, and other neurological problems.
In the period following the concussion, it is common for athletes to suffer from headaches, nausea, dizziness, and sensitivity to light and noise.
"It's basically the brain's response to the injury," said Sacred Heart University assistant athletic trainer Ben Batchelder.
One potentially serious problem happens when athletes come back too soon from a concussion in which they still suffer from lingering symptoms.
"It's our job to identify when these symptoms are going on because if [the player] returns too soon there's an element known as Second Impact Syndrome [or SIS] and that's basically what all these athletes are suffering from that die," said Batchelder.
Although SIS doesn't happen very often, it has been known to happen and some athletes have even died from it.
On Oct. 19, ESPN ran a story on the popular show "Outside the Lines" in which Jaquan Waller, a junior running back from Greenville, N.C., passed away after suffering Second Impact Syndrome.
According to ESPN, Waller suffered a head injury at practice on Sept. 17. The school's injury specialist evaluated Waller later that day in which he used a standard concussion questionnaire to determine the severity of his concussion but did not feel further medical attention was required.
Two days later, Waller played in a game without seeing a doctor. After two carries, Jaquan left the field in pain and collapsed on the sidelines shortly thereafter.
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