Lesa Turnquist | Staff Writer
According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), a concussion is an injury to the brain in which the force of a blow causes the brain to move within the skull. A person does not have to lose consciousness or have hit their head to suffer a concussion, which makes them hard to detect if symptoms of a concussion are not taken seriously.
Concussions are becoming a big topic in the world of sports. There are negative effects during the time someone has a concussion, and the brain often times doesn’t fully recover back to 100 percent normal, even after the symptoms have gone away. When athletes retire, they continue to feel these negative effects in their everyday lives.
Buena Vista University (BVU) athletics average around 5-10 concussions per year. Because the football team has so many players on its team, they make up most of that number, but the soccer teams also contribute significantly.
The BVU Athletic Training program deals with preventing and treating concussions. Protective equipment and proper technique should be used and taught, but concussions are going to happen regardless.
“Knowing the symptoms of a concussion is the most important factor in preventing concussions from starting off as a minor incidence and turning into a major episode,” Head Athletic Trainer James Day said.
The ACSM states that some of the symptoms of a concussion include: confusion, headaches, vomiting, double vision, unequal pupils, behavior change, drowsiness, sleep-related problems, and other symptoms.
Day explains how they treat concussions specifically at BVU.
“We have a strong focus on identification. It is a joint endeavor between the athletic training staff, coaches, and athletes to make sure anyone with a suspected concussion is identified for further testing. From there, we use both clinical and computerized testing to identify when it is safe to return them to participation because no one is allowed to participate until they are fully cleared and back to normal,” Day said.
Graphic by Aaron Burns
