The Impact of Concussions on Athletes in Spring Sports

With the winter winding down and the warmer days of spring ahead, it’s time to look forward to your favorite springtime sports. Although concussion might not be the first injury on your mind as you prepare yourself or your child for the spring season, even low-contact sports carry a risk of head injury. 

The sports medicine specialists at Princeton Sports and Family Medicine, P.C., in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, want to take time this month to remind you of the impact that concussions may have on athletes, young and old, who participate in spring sports. Whether organized or individual the transition back to outdoor exercise means a change in opportunities to participate.

Springtime sports

Returning to the courts and fields to participate in spring sports remains a great way to enjoy the longer and warmer days. Spring training is synonymous with field sports and as the outdoors become green and inviting with the better weather, injury risk increases. 

Outdoor court sports like tennis and pickleball return in earnest, too, freed from indoor facilities and back in the open air. Track and field training moves back outside, and runners trade treadmills for the open road. 

While organized leagues often start their seasons in the spring, many people enjoy the simple pleasures of playing catch or kicking a soccer ball back and forth as a way to stay active and celebrate the return of the sun after a long winter. 

The risks of concussion

Concussions are common in every sport, regardless of their intensity. Anytime you build your activity levels, the risk of accidents creeps up, too. The risk may be something as simple as falling or being hit by an errant ball. Remember, any trauma has a chance of causing symptoms of concussion. 

Only baseball and softball regularly use protection in the form of batting helmets and catcher’s masks to protect against head injury. However, concussions can still occur, even with headgear in use. 

The impact of concussions

Any contact can cause a concussion through whipping motions of the head and neck, even when there’s no direct impact on the skull. The damage of concussion results from your brain moving within the skull. 

Concussion usually produces a combination of physical, cognitive, and psychiatric symptoms. While concussions generally aren’t life-threatening, they can have substantial impacts on your daily life. 

While a single injury isn’t likely to cause permanent damage to your brain, a pattern of concussions over time can result in changes to the way your brain works. 

The complications of head trauma in addition to concussion include: 

• Post-concussion syndrome (PCS)
• Swelling of the brain
• Bleeding within the skull
• Brain position within the skull changes
• Anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders
• Memory loss
• Dementia

Ssecond-impact syndrome (SIS) is a condition associated with a second head injury before the first has resolces is important to discuss with your provider. In SIS, another concussion, even a mild one, can extend symptoms from the first and add an increased risk of complications like bleeding or swelling. 

There’s no such thing as a mild concussion. While simple recoveries do occur, brain injuries always carry a risk of being unpredictable. 

Play it safe when you or your child experience a head injury. Visit Princeton Sports and Family Medicine, P.C., for concussion diagnosis and treatment. Request your appointment online or by phone today.