How To Recognize and Treat Concussions in Youth Sports

With all the talk about concussions in the NFL, I decide to share my thoughts. However, I want to talk about kids and concussions or concussions in youth sports.

A concussion is a brain injury that is caused by a sudden blow to the head or to the body. The blow shakes the brain inside the skull, which temporarily prevents the brain from working normally.

Being a Pop Warner coach, one thing I always worry about are injuries especially during practice. The reason I worry more at practice is because of the lack of trained medical people at the field. There has been more than one occasion were a kid was hurt during practice and I was worried that we weren’t doing the right thing. I think every coach should know some type of basic first aid on how to treat common sports injuries.

Symptoms of a concussion
If you see a kid with these symptoms they may have a concussion. The first thing you should notice is the player having problems standing, walking and looking confused. Then look for

• Headache
• Dizziness
• Changes to the vision such as blurry vision or double vision
• Upset stomach or vomiting
• Feeling tired
• Moodiness
• Confusion
• Loss of memory of events before and after the concussion

It is important for coaches, to be able to recognize the symptoms of a concussion. A player may only have one symptom, and may not realize they have suffered a concussion and may continue to play or practice. No kid should be allowed to play or practice while still experiencing symptoms of a concussion. One reason not to return a player to the field is the chance of second-impact syndrome. This condition has only been observed in younger athletes. If a kid has a hit to the head, while still recovering from the first concussion, they can have swelling of the brain, which can cause death.

Kids, who have mild concussions, may no longer get headaches or other symptoms of concussions but still have problems processing information. This can last up to seven days after getting a concussion.

What to do if you think a child has a concussion.

The first thing you should do is to test the child's mental state, concentration and memory you can do this by asking the players these simple questions or questions like this

• Tell you the time, place, year.
• Repeat numbers in reverse order. For example, 3-1-7 should elicit the response 7-1-3.
• Repeat the months of the year in reverse order. For example, January, February, March should elicit the response March, February, and January.
• Name several teams played earlier in the season

After that, test the player's physical strength and coordination by looking for symptoms while he or she runs, does some push-ups, sit-ups or deep knee bends, or just has problems standing or walking. Remember once a player has one concussion, he or she is more likely to get another concussions.

Rest is the best way to recover from a concussion Get plenty of sleep and take it easy during the day. Avoid any activities that could lead to another head injury for a few days or even weeks.

Some people feel normal again in a few hours while others have symptoms for weeks or months. It is very important to give yourself time to get better. Also call your doctor if you don't feel you are getting better or even feeling worse