Whack in the head

Darcy Murphy kept up his torrid scoring pace on Friday— burying three goals in the Dukes win. Murphy leads the league with 37 goals—nine more than his nearest rival.

Alarming number of concussions in hockey worries Family Health Team doctor

Eight NHL players were sidelined just last week. The list of hockey players suffering from concussion symptoms has become a minor epidemic claiming some of the best players in the world. The careers of stars like Sidney Crosby and Chris Pronger are in limbo as they wait for their brains to heal. No one knows when that will be.

Dr. Sonia Fawcett, a resident from Queen’s University working with the Prince Edward Family Health Team in Picton, knows sports. She comes from Listowel, a hockey town. Shortly after she became a doctor she assisted with a head injury at a hockey game, and realized how little she knew about concussions. So when it came time to advocate for an issue as part of her graduating requirements, it seemed fitting to her to focus on concussions in sport.

Last Wednesday she offered a presentation to parents and coaches of young athletes on what concussions are, how to detect them and what to do about them.

When Sidney Crosby was pulled out of last year’s regular season because of concussion symptoms, it started a very public discussion about the issue of brain injuries in sport. And when Crosby was pulled out again recently— along with eight other hockey players this past week—parents got the message.

“People are starting to take it pretty seriously now,” said County Kings Assistant Coach John Kelly, who attended the presentation along with Coach Obie VanVlack. “There are some kids on one of our midget teams. I think they’ve had four kids with concussions and they’ve been out numerous weeks now.”

Fawcett says this awareness is a great start. But there is a long way to go, and many gaps in knowledge. Many parents don’t know how unsafe it can be to return kids to play too soon. It can be deadly: getting hit again after a concussion can cause what’s known as Second Impact Syndrome.

Dr. Sonia Fawcett

“The brain usually is pretty good at getting blood to itself,” said Fawcett. “But what happens in a concussion is the brain can’t control that anymore. And then, when a second impact happens… the brain starts to swell… and then it starts to bleed. And that can be fatal.”

Concussion symptoms vary. Girls report different symptoms than boys. Generally, someone with a concussion will experience headache, dizziness, nausea, loss of balance, confusion, double vision, flashing lights and ringing in his or her head. In less than ten per cent of cases, a person will lose consciousness or have a seizure.

Concussed athletes are easily distracted, unusually emotional, and unable to answer questions or follow directions. You may notice a vacant stare, slurred speech, personality changes, and a decreased playing ability.

There are field tests for concussions. One, called the Maddock test, is a series of questions about the game, such as the score, period, location or opposing team.

A child with a suspected concussion should be kept out for at least the game, and see a doctor. A doctor can determine if the injury is a concussion, or if it is something more serious that requires immediate attention. Be ready to tell the doctor what happened, when, and to describe the symptoms.

Some parents ask for CT scans. But because a CT scan is about 400 times the radiation of an x-ray, they’re not recommended unless the doctor suspects something else is wrong.

After your child is diagnosed with a concussion, says Fawcett, it’s a matter of time. The first 24 hours can be painful for you and your child. It’s recommended that a person with a concussion not be left alone for at least 24 hours, although they can be left to sleep. But the hardest thing for your child will be doing nothing at all.

“It used to be just physical rest; you go and you sleep, or you lie on the couch, you don‘t do any activity,” said Fawcett. “But now what they’re talking about more is the cognitive rest part of it, which is no texting, no video games, no watching TV, no reading, no doing homework. You kind of just have to sit on the couch and watch the paint dry. It’s really not fun.”

Teenagers should not be allowed to drive the first day or two. They should also get any tests or exams postponed. Studies show that people with concussions do worse on exams.

Fawcett reccomends incrementally reintroducing activity to your child, every 24 hours. Start with light activities, then move on to things like non-contact sport. If symptoms like headaches and loss of concentration occur, go back one step, and if no symptoms recur, continue to reintroduce activities. Normally this should take about a week. Still, especially with more severe concussions, recovery can take up to three months.

If your child has received three concussions in a season, or if they have Post-Concussion Syndrome, you should pull the kid out, for at least the remainder of the year. Post-Concussion Syndrome is when the symptoms of a concussion don’t disappear after three months.

The trouble with Post-Concussion Syndrome, especially in a teenager, is that its symptoms are very similar to what we usually associate with normal side-effects of puberty—for a prolonged period after a concussion the person feels tired, is not sleeping well, has headaches and vertigo, is irritable, aggressive, anxious, depressed, experiences personality changes and doesn’t feel like doing anything.

Still, Fawcett says it’s better to be safe, and assume there is an injury, than to allow a child to continue to play and possibly cause worse damage.