A parent performed CPR on Mohika before the 17 year old was rushed to the emergency room at the Queen’s Medical Center, where he continues to recover from a severe concussion that caused some bleeding of the brain.
Local trauma expert Dr. Caesar Ursic, a Queen’s Medical Center physician who did not treat Mohika, told Khon2 delayed symptoms are just one of the many subtleties when dealing with concussions.
“It really is a time critical injury,” said Ursic. “The clock is ticking and the longer one waits to recognize it and treat it the worst the outcome can be.”
Symptoms of concussion include a slight change in personality, loss of memory, inability to concentrate and a change in sleeping patterns.
“A concussion in a player or anyone who hits their head hard enough is a shaking of the brain to a degree that the brain momentarily stops working correctly,” explains Ursic. “Those can be really mild or they can be severe.”
BETTER MONITORING
In 2009 the Hawaii Department of Education made it mandatory for coaches and trainers to learn the warning signs of concussion. The required classes also teach the proper way to handle a student-athlete in the immediate aftermath of a head injury.
“This is an ongoing training that the Department of Education is putting forward and I think is going to make a big difference,” said Ursic. “These kids can be evaluated and we can figure out if they extra help or just monitoring.”
Left undiagnosed concussions can lead to a variety of problems later in life. Many youth sports leagues, including Hawaii public schools, require a paramedic or someone with equivalent training to be on the field during games.
“These kids in high school and middle school are at the peak of brain development and an injury like this if unrecognized might lead to problems later on with learning and so forth,” said Ursic. “If they lost consciousness, even if it was just for second, that player needs to be removed from action and needs to be seen by a professional.”
According to the Hawaii High School Athletic Association there were 334 concussions reported last school year due to athletic play. That figure does not include concussions suffered by student-athletes in private schools.
Nationally, U.S. emergency rooms treat an estimated 135,000 sports and recreation related traumatic brain injuries, including concussions, among children ages 5 to 18.
Ursic believes parents of children who play sports at any level should be well versed in recognizing the symptoms of a concussion, which he says is not a football-centric injury.
“If your boy or girl is acting any differently than what you’re used to them acting, than that’s a cause for concern and you should see an expert,” he said. “It’s not just football but it can be volleyball, basketball or soccer.”
Concussion awareness and prevention has become so prevalent that it’s impacting the highest levels of play.
For the 2011 season NFL kickoffs will now take place from the 35 yard line instead of the 30, and players covering kickoffs are only allowed a five yard head start, instead of the fifteen yards allowed in past years. The new rules are aimed at preventing injuries during one of the more violent plays in professional football.
For information on concussions visit the following web sites:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (Free registration required)
- Athletic Medicine and Performance
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See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
