A recent study concluded that as many as 1.9 million children will suffer a concussion through organized sports and recreational activities this year.
Of those, approximately 1.2 million will go undetected and untreated mainly because parents and family may not recognize the symptoms commonly associated with concussions.
Unrecognized and untreated concussions can result in an athlete returning to play sooner than medically advised, leading to the potential of "second impact syndrome"-a condition in which a second concussion is sustained before the first has fully healed, possibly leading to brain swelling.
"While we associate concussions with contact sports, concussions can occur in any sports and recreational activities," said Jeannine Hurst, MS, AT/ATC, coordinator of the Athletic Medicine Institute at McLaren Macomb. "This makes it all the more important to know the signs of concussions and to keep a close eye on our kids, watching for any of those symptoms."
Not always leading to a loss of consciousness, symptoms of concussions include:
Feeling dazed/confused
Amnesia of the injury/impact
Blurred vision Irritability
Amnesia of the injury/impact
Sleepiness
Long term, untreated concussion symptoms include:
Eye pain
Memory loss
Chronic pain
Emotional dysregulation
Dizziness spells
Headaches
Anxiety/Depression
While time and rest are the only treatments for concussion, McLaren Macomb Athletic Medicine Institute's effort to combat the long-term effects of concussions led to its offering of the ImPACT concussion evaluation program.
ImPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) is a computerized concussion evaluation system. ImPACT provides doctors and physicians with assessment tools and services that are used as part of evaluating when it's safe to return to play after first determining normal, baseline cognitive activity.
To learn more, or to schedule an ImPACT concussion test, call (586) 992-9031 or visit mclaren.org/ami.