The Brain & Concussions

Central Nervous System
The Brain & Concussions

• The brain is part of the CNS (Central Nervous System)

• Frontal Lobe- personality, decision making, movement (voluntary)

• Parietal Lobe- language, spatial awareness, pain/touch

• Temporal Lobe- short term memory, speech, musical rhythm, some smell

• Occipital Lobe- vision

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Quick Recap-Parts of the Brain

Match

Match the following

• Frontal Lobe

• Parietal Lobe

• Occipital Lobe

• Temporal Lobe

BLUE

YELLOW

RED

GREEN

• BLUE

• YELLOW

• RED

• GREEN

Understand the definition of a concussion, causes of a concussion, and the effects of a concussion short and long-term​

Today, we will...

• By definition, a concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury that impairs the function of the brain

• It can interfere with normal brain function

• It can be caused by a blow to the head or body, a hit or jolt, or a fall

• You don't have to lose consciousness to be diagnosed with one

• There is no such thing as a "minor" concussion

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What is a Concussion & What Causes It?

• What exactly happens to the brain is not yet completely understood

• You can't get an x-ray, MRI, or CT Scan to "see" it

• It is thought that a concussion can be a stretching of the brain; a bruise/hematoma; tearing of brain cells

• Possible chemical changes inside the brain can occur

• Once this happens, again, it is "thought" that you become more vulnerable to further injury, damage, etc., until fully recovered.

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Gray Area Matter...

• Headache, head pressure

• Nausea, vomiting

• Dizziness

• Blurred vision

• Sensitive to light, noise

• Foggy, "out of it"

• Can't concentrate

• Memory loss

• Confusion

• Overall feeling of being "off" or "not feeling right"

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Symptoms Reported

Multiple Choice

Which of these is NOT a symptom of a concussion:

• Headache, pressure

• Craving chocolate

• Nausea

• Sensitivity to light, noise

• Dazed, stunned appearance

• Confusion

• Forgetfulness

• Clumsy, uncoordinated movement

• Slow response or incorrect responses to simple questions

• Mood, behavioral changes

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Signs Observed:

Open Ended

Briefly list or describe a sign that someone might have suffered a concussion:

These sports have the highest rate of concussions:

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Sports Stats

• Football (highest rate; more than half of all concussions occur in FB)

• Girls'/Womens' Soccer

• Wrestling

• Boys' Lacrosse

• Boys' Ice Hockey

• Girls' Basketball

• Cheer

• Miami Dolphin Tua Tagovailoa just suffered his 3rd major concussion in his NFL career. He is only 26.

• Cleveland Browns Denzel Ward recently acquired his 6th concussion in his NFL career. He is only 27.

• NFL concussions are on the rise, at 219 concussions, despite increased rule changes

• CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy), which is a progressive brain disease from repetitive concussions, also is on the rise in football players. Can only be diagnosed after death and through autopsy.

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​Worth the Risk?

• You can recover from a concussion 100% with sufficient rest, proper nutrition, and rehab

• Repetitive concussions are the issue

• How many is too much?

• Do more people have lingering effects and not know it? Will CTE continue to increase? Will more succumb to it?

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Brain Rehab

• Although football (men) continue to lead the stats in concussions, womens' sports, such as soccer and basketball, accrue the most concussions for females

• Despite this stat, most concussion study is on men

• This might be due to a higher death and incident rate in football players and them donating their bodies to science upon passing

• Women soccer players, such as Brandi Chastain and Abby Wambach have vowed to donate their brains to be studied when that time comes.

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One Side of the Brain...

• Should football be replaced with flag football in youth sports?

• Should concussion protocols be different for females vs males?

• Should professional athletes be held to a different standard regarding concussions and their career or should they be regulated?

• If sports aren't your thing, what if you had a son or daughter one day and they want to play football or soccer? Would you let them?

• Are helmets enough? What else could be done differently in protective equipment?

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Topics For Discussion

​-Small Group
-Pick a Topic
-Discuss w/in your group
-Prepare to Share!

Open Ended

Closing Question: Describe something new you learned today!

Understand the definition of a concussion, causes of a concussion, and the effects of a concussion short and long-term​

Today, we will...