Bill shock in children’s sport
Bill in children’s sport happens with relative frequency. It is not a despicable injury, since if it is not attended as it should be from the beginning, it can lead to injuries.
Contact sports are the most likely to produce brain shocks in children. Among them is rugby, football and basketball as main. Anyway, the risk in other sports practices cannot be despised. Among contact athletes it is estimated that 20% suffer from a brain shock per year. This statistic varies between regions, but for large countries it represents millions of patients. In addition, young people who have had the shock and continue in sports, are twice as a risk to injure.
We talk about brain shock when the brain is injured by a blow to the head that shakes the skull. That is the basic mechanism. The head moves very quickly forward and backwards by trauma, and the same impact on brain tissue. The immediate effect of brain shock is the functioning of the brain momentarily. This modification cannot be detected in image studies – such as tomography or resonance.
Symptoms of brain shock
Adults must be prepared to detect the symptoms of a brain shock in children’s sport. As we already said, the evolution and prevention of sequelae depends on early detection.
Among the symptoms that a child can present with brain shock we have:
- Disorientation: does not recognize the place or the moment in which it is.
- Amnesia: forgetting some things, especially those referred to the time of trauma.
- Lentity in speech: it seems that the language is "heavy" to speak and answer the questions. Delay more time, also, in elaborating the phrases.
- Headache: headache can be referred to the place where the blow happened, or feel like a generalized pain of the entire skull.
- Lack of balance: coordination is affected, both in the posture and in some fine movements.
- Nausea and vomiting
- Diplopia: It is the medical name of the double vision.
- Increase in symptoms with exposure to light and noise.
- Extreme dream: you want to sleep more than usual and it is hard for you to wake up.
How is it diagnosed
Clinical evaluation will be fundamental. Anyway, it is very likely that when the shock happens, there is no doctor nearby, unless it is a great sporting event. That is why it is recommended that coaches know the symptoms and learn to recognize the signs alert to consult.
Evaluation instruments have been developed that consist of scales to score the symptoms after trauma. The best known are the scat. These evaluation tables are free, are available to download from the web, and are designed so that anyone can apply them. Once in the hospital, medical professionals can request a tomography or resonance, but this is not purely necessary. If the symptoms are clear of brain shock, the diagnosis is clinical.
Recommendations after a brain shock in children’s sport
- Once the diagnosis of brain shock was completed in the child who practices sport, you have to take concrete measures for its good. Evolution will depend on the compliance with medical indications.
- Immediate rest is always recommended and for a time after the lesion. Rest helps the brain resume its usual characteristics, deflamenting and returning to the normal position.
- The return to sports after a brain shock in children’s sport is a controversial issue. There are those who postulate a rapid return, however, most scientific evidence points to a progression on the return.
- It must be considered that a brain shock can lead to symptoms up to a month after trauma. Medications are not efficient to reduce this interval, although they can relieve symptoms such as vomiting or headache.
- Cognitive activity should also be reduced a bit during the four weeks of recovery. It is important that schools know this, and that the medical indication clarifies. Children should not be forced in this period to an intellectual overexertion.
Bill shock in children’s sports is an injury that, relative frequently, can affect the normal development of the child’s life. Adults are responsible for being attentive to symptoms and signs to detect it in time. The recovery of the child who suffered the shock will be important. Although it is recommended to reduce sports for a period-approximately one month-, the sport in question should not necessarily be abandoned.
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