On Christmas day, the film Concussion opens starring Will Smith, as forensic pathologist, Dr. Bennet Omalu. Smith was understandably conflicted about accepting the role because the film's message about the potential health consequences for his children clashed with his love of the game. Two years ago, in my mission to promote high-quality nonfiction for children, I reviewed Carla Killough McClafferty's prescient and insightful book Fourth Down and Inches: Concussions and Football's Make -or-Break Moment.
Yesterday I heard from author McClafferty, who sent me her list of Ten Things Everyone Should Know About Concussions. I think that it is informative enough to share here:
Concussions, especially those associated with football players, fill the news. Here are ten things everyone should understand about concussions:
1. In the past football players were considered to have a concussion only if they were knocked unconscious. This is not true. Only about 10% of people who sustain a concussion lose consciousness.
2. Concussions are not only a football issue, nor only a male issue. Research shows that in sports played by both boys and girls, such as basketball and soccer, girls have a higher concussion rate.
3.What a concussion is: A traumatic brain injury caused by a bump, a blow, or a jolt to the head that interferes with the normal function of the brain.
4.What a concussion is not: A concussion does not mean the brain is bruised, bleeding, or swollen.
5. Cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds the brain and protects it from most minor bumps and falls.
6. A normal brain scan does not mean the patient does not have a concussion.
7. Because a concussion is an injury that interferes with the normal function of the brain-it is diagnosed through identifying a disruption in brain function
8. A concussion occurs when a bump, blow or jolt causes the brain to slam into the inside of the skull and bounce back - which causes chemical changes in the brain.
9. Medical professionals diagnose a concussion through careful consideration of symptoms reported by the patient, and/or signs observed by others.
10. There are twenty-six symptoms of concussion that fall into four categories that include physical, cognitive, emotional and sleep disturbance.