Head Injury and Concussion Treatment – About.com Sports Medicine

Any athlete can wind up with a head injury such as a concussion. A fall, a collision or a blow to the head can result in a minor headache or a major head trauma. But because it's difficult to determine the severity of any head injury without a medical evaluation, it's important to obtain medical treatment for any head injury.

Any blow to the head during sports--even those that appear minor--can result in a serious head injury, particularly if the athlete continues playing sports. In fact, it's not uncommon for the warning signs or symptoms of a head injury to be delayed for several hours or even days after the initial head trauma. In some cases, delaying head injury treatment can have serious, and even life-threatening consequences.

If you suspect a head injury in yourself or someone you're with,even if you don't see any significant signs or symptoms, be safe, and follow these head injury treatment guidelines.

Sources

Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sport: the 3rd International Conference on Concussion in Sport held in Zurich, November 2008. http://bjsm.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/43/Suppl_1/i76

Heegaard WG, Biros MH. Head. In: Marx J. Rosens Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 6th ed. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby; 2006: chap. 38.

University of Pittsburgh, Brain Trauma Research. http://www.neurosurgery.pitt.edu/research/trauma.html

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Head Injury and Concussion Treatment - About.com Sports Medicine