Concussion Signs &Symptoms
Shaking head, squinting eyes, confusion when trying to answer questions, stumbling, coordination problems, flat affect...
What law was adopted by all 50 states in the USA regarding youth and concussive symptoms in sports?
The Lysdedt Law
What is the ONLY treatment for concussive symptoms?
Cognitive Rest
What is the main topic of the documentary League of Denial--besides the discovery of CTE?
The long-term effects of concussions in the NFL and the league’s response to evidence linking football to brain injuries.
Whicg groups of people are most commonly diagnosed with CTE? (there are more than one, now)
Athletes in contact sports (especially football players), military veterans, and individuals with repeated head trauma.
What is the difference between signs and symptoms of concussion?
Signs==visible to observer
Symptoms=experienced by person with injury
What is Second Impact Syndrome?
A rare but serious condition where a second concussion occurs before the first one has fully healed, leading to rapid brain swelling.
What is the general term for MEMORY LOSS.
Amnesia
What degenerative brain disease is highlighted in League of Denial as being linked to repeated head trauma in football players? USE THE WHOLE PROPER NAME.
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).
What is the only way to definitively diagnose CTE?
Through post-mortem brain autopsy--examination of brain tissue after death
List 4 symptoms of concussion
Focus trouble, headache, dizziness, sensitivity to light, nausea, vomiting, vision disturbance, ringing in ears,
What part of the body experiences the most severe effects of Second Impact Syndrome?
The brain.
What is the difference between retrograde amneisa and anterograde amnesia?
Retrograde Amnesia: Cannot remember anything before the injury
Anterograde Amnesia: Cannot form new memories after the injury occured
Who was the doctor that first discovered CTE in the brain of former NFL player Mike Webster?
Dr. Bennet Omalu.
What are the major symptoms researchers have found in stage 2 CTE?
Rage, Impusivity, Depression--suicidal acts
What is the risk of playing a sport with concussive symptoms that have not resolved?
Developing SIS
Why is Second Impact Syndrome more common in young athletes than in adults?
The brain is still developing, making it more vulnerable to swelling and catastrophic injury.
Why should an athlete avoid returning to play immediately after a suspected concussion?
The brain needs time to heal; returning too soon increases the risk of prolonged symptoms, further injury, or Second Impact Syndrome.
Name THREE ways the NFL initially responded to scientific findings connecting football-related head trauma to CTE?
The league denied the findings, discredited researchers, and downplayed the risks of concussions to players.
Define Subconcussive Injury
Brain injury caused by a blow to the head or body that does not produce immediate symptoms of a concussion.
What symptoms of concussion might indicate emergency?
differentiation of pupil size and reaction to light
vomiting
What physiological process causes rapid brain swelling in Second Impact Syndrome?
The brain loses its ability to regulate blood flow, leading to vascular congestion, increased intracranial pressure, and herniation.
What objective measurement test of Cognitive Function test is commonly used by Sultan High School on the sidelines and pre season to assess baseline or change from baseline in the case of a suspected concussion?
The King Devick Test
Explain the specific structural changes of both the brain as a whole and the actual structural problem that occur in the brain of someone suffering from CTE?
Progressive buildup of tau protein, leading to brain tissue degeneration,
In recent findings from the Concussion Legacy Foundation’s research, what percentage of former NFL players studied were found to have CTE?
Over 90% of studied former NFL players’ brains have shown evidence of CTE.