Concussions Strike Athletes

As the information we know about head injuries grows, the more doctors realize just how serious they can be. Both the recent deaths of ex-NFL star Junior Seau and Ohio State Buckeyes’ lineman Kosta Karageorge relate to the multiple head injuries they experienced throughout their careers.

When athletes such as Karageorge and Seau have their first concussion officially recognized by a doctor, they have often already sustained one or more in the past without professional diagnosis.

“Studies are showing long-term damage. We know this from boxers and professional football players. Repeated injuries just causes continuously worse things as you get older. There can be long-term effects from even one concussion,” Nurse Practitioner Lisa Harrison said. “[Concussions] result in kind of a scar, so that next time you get hurt, in that particular spot it’s not going to work as well, not going to be as well-protected because that area is already damaged. The area that’s already damaged won’t ever fully heal.”

“The first concussion I had was my sophomore year in this thing we had called RPD [Relentless Punishing Defense]. Me and Ryan Londree (Who now plays for ODU) went head to head against each other and our heads bumped, but my head took more of the blow and I had a concussion. I was out for a week,” junior defensive tackle Nehemiah Lesesane said.

RPD is a drill where two teammates are selected to hit each other head on “as hard as you can” according to junior and backup quarterback Nic Parsons.

While football is often seen as the number one cause of athlete’s concussions, head injuries are prevalent in all sports. Senior Raigan Tarkington who plays for the Albemarle soccer team, recently suffered a serious concussion while practicing with the team.

“I was going to block a shot at soccer practice and my teammate struck the ball right towards my head [while] I didn’t realize it and it hit me right in the head; I was running around crazily laughing and crying and can’t remember what else I did that practice. [I] didn’t realize I was seriously injured, [I] only thought I just had a migraine—nothing serious. The next day I went to the doctor and they told me I had a really bad concussion,” Tarkington said.

With the growing concern of head injuries among athletes, the staff at Albemarle recognize the severity of concussions, and handle them accordingly.

“The medical and coaching staff see how a lot of NFL players are retiring and being hurt from concussions so they take our concussions very seriously,” Lesesane said.

After being symptom-free for a week, Tarkington took the concussion test, a mandatory test that every high school athlete takes before the season begins. It consists of a series of questions that stress memory and repetition. If you sustain what coaches may suspect is a concussion during the season, then you will retake the test and not be allowed to begin playing again until you meet your previous score. All high school athletes that participate in “contact sports” must take this test once every season. Tarkington failed the test four times.

“Just like when you’re sick, you need to rest,” Harrison said. “There’s really no treatment other than taking a break. One of the reasons we tell you you can’t play sports when you get a concussion, it’s more about protecting it from reinjury. If you have a concussion, your balance may be off when you get hit again, so you’re more apt to fall over. Part of the reason that you “can’t do anything” is that we want to protect you, it takes about 1-6 weeks to heal, and we want you to be able to heal”.

“After half the season I felt good enough to play, but the concussion test wasn’t letting me. I eventually got to start playing after two weeks of never passing the test,” Tarkington said.