While studying neurobiology, we are taught about how the brain grows throughout the lifespan, the job of each specific part of the brain, potential injuries or illnesses that can happen to our brains and how all of these things affect our occupational performance. One of the injuries that our brains can sustain is an acquired brain injury (ABI), which is damage that the brain has acquired, meaning it was not present at birth. ABI's can be further divided into traumatic brain injuries (TBI) like car crashes and falls and non-traumatic brain injuries (NTBI) like tumors and strokes. TBI's, especially concussions, have always interested me because of my passion for sports and the risk that playing these sports brings. For 4 years, I was a Division 1 collegiate soccer player and for 4 years I had a ball hit my head every single day. During those years, I didn't think much of what that impact could be doing to my brain because that sport was paying for my education and I simply was not aware of the risks and the questions to ask. However, as I look back on those years with my broadened education I realize how much harm and permeant damage I was possibly bringing to myself. With this in mind, I found a TedTalk by Kim Gorgens titled "Protecting the Brain Against Concussion". Once I saw this, I knew I would have to watch and get more information about an injury that affects so many people like me.
Kim Gorgens begins her talk by telling us that she is a mother. A mother that is a worrier, sometimes neurotic, a little crazy and really really loves her son. She is such a worrier because she is a neurobiologist and her son wants to play football. She goes on to explain her reasoning for worrying is because of the force of which a football hit can cause. A football hit can cause 103 G's compared to a punch in the face by a professional boxer, only 58 G's! Gorgen's also mentions that a concussion isn't just a loss of conciseness but a change in it, which can include headache, irritability, dizziness, confusion, slurred speech and nausea and vomiting. I also found it important that she mentioned that our brains are strong and want to repair themselves and that our brains are designed to recover from one injury. However, there is a key word in that previous sentence and it is the word "one", so in sports when the head has the potential to be repeatedly hit and damaged, is when long term issues start to arise. Once you sustain one brain injury, the likelihood of you sustaining a second increases exponentially! The last thing that she mentioned that I think is extremely important for anyone are 3 things that we should do as parents, athletes, coaches or really anyone. First, study the issues. Be informed on the risks you are putting your body in and make informed decisions. Second, speak up. Speak up to coaches and trainers about safety equipment and precautions in sports or how serious they are about concussions. And third, suit up. When participating in a sport or an activity, like riding a bike or football, and you are able to wear a helmet, do it!
After watching this TedTalk, I wish I would have taken my brain's health more seriously when I was playing sports. This video showed me statistics regarding concussions and sports and also showed me possible risks and multiple ways that I can decrease or eliminate risks in order to keep my brain as safe as possible. I highly recommend this TedTalk for anyone interested in concussions related to sports and anyone interested in protecting their, or their kids or athletes, brain against concussions especially when playing sports! I attached the ink below in case this topic is of interest to you!
https://www.ted.com/talks/kim_gorgens_protecting_the_brain_against_concussion?language=en#t-535585
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