The Concussion Blog

The fact that I had no idea that the Huffington Post even had a “sports” section should indicate how often I read that particular online ‘rag’.  I have not read it because it rarely falls on my radar for concussion, nor is it what I want to spend my free reading time on, other than that I have heard they do a great job and have a good product.

An article and video on concussions by Cara Santa Maria was posted today;

In medical parlance, a concussion is a traumatic brain injury that causes transient alterations in the function of the brain. It can be mild or severe, and it can cause bleeding or swelling. Symptoms usually go away within weeks following a concussion, with proper care. For those who stay in the game after a concussion, they are at a high risk for second-impact syndrome, which can result in lasting brain damage or death.

When it comes down to it, it’s the damage to individual brain cells, called neurons, that cause the real problem. When a brain cell is injured, its membrane (the sack surrounding it) can be breached, causing all sorts of complications. And that’s not all—these head-in-motion injuries can also cause a phenomenon called diffuse axonal injury, or axon shearing.

For some reason I expected different in the article, however what I found was a good basic understanding of the injury.  Cara presented the information in the video in a way that should have been very understandable and if there were questions about the general injury itself then some where not paying attention.

Worth your time, and another piece to have in your arsenal.