Oct162009
Head injuries on the high school football field
Filed under Coaching, Fall sports, Family, Football, General, Health & Fitness, High School Sports, Injuries, NFL, NHIAA by bob hammerstrom at 12:40 pm
After reading an article in the New Yorker about concussions and head injuries sustained in pro football games, I looked up some information about the subject on the NHIAA web site for you parents of high school and younger football players.
According the the NHIAA articles, an estimated 300,000 sports related traumatic head injuries are sustained by athletes each year. Football, gymnastics, wrestling, and ice hockey have the greatest risk of catastrophic head injuries. After suffering a concussion, you are at a six-fold risk of suffering another.
Ten percent of all college, and 20 percent of high school football players sustain brain injuries. You have most likely heard about one of your friends’ children suffering a concussion. Would you know how to recognize it if your son came home from practice or a game with one?
Here are some signs to look for from the NHIAA web site:
SIGNS OF TROUBLE -contact your physician or go to the Emergency Department if you see any of these following a head injury. Sometimes signs might not appear for several days or weeks.
• Slurred or incoherent speech
• Vacant stare or befuddled facial expression
• Delayed verbal or motor response
• Difficulty focusing attention
• Observable lack of coordination (stumbling, inability to walk a straight line)
• Disorientation (walking in the wrong direction, unaware of time, date, or place.)
• Memory deficits
• Any loss of consciousness
• Persistent or severe headache
• Dizziness or vertigo
• Nausea and vomiting
• Easily fatigued or drowsy
• Irritability or anxiety
• Intolerance of bright lights and loud noises, possible vision difficulty and ringing in the ear
• Seizures or convulsions
• Bleeding or clear fluid from the nose or ears
Another indicator that our trainer at Memorial High School mentioned to us was dilation of their eyes. Have your son hold his eyes closed for a minute. Then open them and shine light in their eyes. The pupils will dilate.
None of the above is meant to scare parents into pulling their children out of sports. Just be aware of the signs for a head injury, no matter how minor it looks to you.
-Bob Hammerstrom
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