This post was written originally in 2011, but has been re-posted numerous times, it will continue to be posted until we all get the message…
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Hogwash! There is NOTHING mild about a concussion, period. However media, teams, players and even medical staffs continue to use this nomenclature with this injury. It is simply counterproductive to label this injury with a “mild” tag, and hampers the effort of everyone trying to increase awareness.
When public speaking I often times compare a mild concussion to being mildly pregnant. It is rather simple you are concussed or you are not, just like being pregnant.
Granted, those that have extensive training in the area of injuries, and particularly head injuries, understand the term “mild” when it is in concert with concussion. This subset of the population is not the one that needs the education, rather it is the general public, which includes players, coaches and parents. A common problem amongst people who are educated in a particular field is that they forget about both who they are servicing and the education level of people other than their peers. It’s a fine balance to educate without talking down to others, but understanding the stigmas of the topics help with that effort.
One serious stigma is the “mild” tag that is placed on concussions. Those that watch and participate in sports are so used to using that clarification when assessing and addressing injuries as a whole, that perhaps it carries over to the traumatic brain injury just sustained by the athlete. We as athletic trainers and doctors Continue reading
I watch Jersey Shore. I am neither proud nor ashamed of that. I just watch it. I doubt I’d watch it the same way if I hadn’t done a biology degree. Everything from examining ecosystems and watching vigilance behaviour to detailing the lives of fruit flies was based on objective observation. It is with that eye of an unimpassioned observer that I tend to watch any reality show, especially those shows that are trying to depict life in an ‘open’ environment. It’s fairly obvious that, although not scripted, Jersey Shore takes place in a well controlled, or at least well influenced environment. The Situation (Mike) – a nickname he seemingly gave himself – recently slammed his head into a wall. Purposefully I might add!
The answer is and has been very one-sided, most everyone trying to make a mark are peer reviewing their research to get publicized. Heck, when I was in graduate school I was told that is the only way anyone would honor your information. Basically if you wanted to be respected it was/is a must to be cited in a journal, a well-respected peer-reviewed publication. Over time I have really become jaded on the whole process, too much money, too much conflict of interest, and too much glad-handing to get in a lot of the journals. We can even take a look at something we all have come across, “Global Warming”; research in that area is basically hand-picked to make it into publication, and if you are not serving an agenda, one side or the other, you will not appear in certain rags.
A lot has been made of this change in the kickoff rules, mainly by those that think the game will “inherently” change because of this. I am not so sure we are looking at a doomsday scenario like that. Rather, I do feel that limiting the full speed collisions over the season will in fact reduce the chances of concussions in that particular “subset” of the game.
This is a tried and true quote from Micky Collins of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Sports Medicine Concussion Program. As I have stated many times the injury itself is more than likely rather benign, IF TREATED CORRECTLY. That is exactly what Collins is preaching; management of the initial injury is of the most importance.
The Concussion Blog 