The effects of a concussion can last for days or even weeks. Depending on the severity of the concussion symptoms may include neurological deficits, cognitive impairment, nausea and vomiting, and blurred vision. A study was done by Michael McCrea to determine the recovery time for a football player suffering from a concussion. In his study, on average, symptoms gradually resolved by day 7, congnitive functioning improved by days 5 to 7, and balancing functions by days 3 to 5. However, 10 percent of the players that tested positive for concussions took longer than 7 days to recover. One known fact about concussions is that someone who sustains a concussion is more susceptible to more concussions.
There is also very little documentation or research about the long term effects of concussions, or if effects of concussions are even 100% curable.
ReplyDeleteThe Chris Benoit murder/suicide was a wakeup call to our society about the links between concussions and brain damage. It was only by chance that somebody though to have his head examined in the autopsy, and they discovered his brain had been severely damaged to the point of insanity from years of undiagnosed concussions.
There are efforts out there to further research and diagnose these types of head injuries, not only for athleted but also for veterans who have received head injuries while on duty.
This blog is very interesting to me because although I have only suffered from one concussion in my life, I have heard many different theories on this. I think that once you have a concussion you should try to be safer when playing sports or doing strenuous activities so it does not occur again. I got mine while playing soccer and it definitely took me a couple days to fully re-cooperate. I think there would need to be more research on this though, like also depending on the different person who experiences it.
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