CARIBOU — In recognition of March as Brain Injury Awareness Month, AMHC’s Center for Integrated Neuro-Rehab wants to get the word out: “A concussion is a brain injury. Get the facts.”
A concussion is a brain injury, period. Coaches of every school athletic team and every extracurricular athletic activity should be trained to recognize the signs and symptoms of brain injury, including concussions and second impact syndrome. AMHC advocates and supports the national Brain Injury Alliance’s position that young athletes who appear to have sustained a concussion should have written authorization by a health care professional before returning to play.
A concussion is caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head, or from a blow to the body that causes the head to move rapidly back and forth. Most concussions occur without a loss of consciousness and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) a lack of proper diagnosis and management of concussion may result in a serious long-term consequences, or risk of coma or death. Signs and symptoms may be noticeable immediately, or it may take days or weeks before they are present.
According to the CDC, an estimated 3.8 million sports- and recreation-related concussions occur in the United States each year. Of that number, U.S. emergency departments treat approximately 135,000 sports- and recreation-related traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), including concussions, among children ages 5 to 18.
For more information about concussions and brain injury, contact Dave Letourneau of AMHC’s Center for Integrated Neuro-Rehab in Caribou at 498-3820.
The Center for Integrated Neuro-Rehab is a CARF-accredited treatment provider dedicated to helping individuals recover from injuries and illness that have caused brain injury.
