All-Star New Study On Brain Trauma

[viralscorp]

NYTimes news article on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) which is believed to be caused by repeated injuries to the head:
Study Bolsters Link Between Routine Hits to Head and Long-Term Brain Disease - NYTimes.com

The study authors created a spectrum with four distinct phases to classify their samples. Since the study was done on brain tissue from dead individuals, they are unable to declare that traumatic brain injury definitely causes the effects they saw. New techniques will be required to determine the precise cause.

I found looking at the images to be particularly sobering:
Images of Brain Injuries in Athletes - Interactive Graphic - NYTimes.com

For those of you who are particularly scientifically minded, the link to the article which appeared in Brain (Dec 2012): The spectrum of disease in chronic traumatic encephalopathy .

Head trauma should always be taken seriously!

 

[CricketCheerMom]

NYTimes news article on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) which is believed to be caused by repeated injuries to the head:
Study Bolsters Link Between Routine Hits to Head and Long-Term Brain Disease - NYTimes.com

The study authors created a spectrum with four distinct phases to classify their samples. Since the study was done on brain tissue from dead individuals, they are unable to declare that traumatic brain injury definitely causes the effects they saw. New techniques will be required to determine the precise cause.

I found looking at the images to be particularly sobering:
Images of Brain Injuries in Athletes - Interactive Graphic - NYTimes.com

For those of you who are particularly scientifically minded, the link to the article which appeared in Brain (Dec 2012): The spectrum of disease in chronic traumatic encephalopathy .

Head trauma should always be taken seriously!

I totally agree and when the gym I was at last season didn't take 2 blows to her head seriously, I was furious. She was kicked in the head twice during cross tumbling. The routine was not stopped. At the end she was not allowed to cone to me. I ran to her and I was told she can turn her head she is fine. She ended up with a concussion and had headaches for 6 months. I was told their was not medical staff by a coach who is no longer there.

 

[L5cheermom]

I have always been told by neurologists that the effects are cumulative and the greatest risk is with injuries that are close in time of occurrence. Repeat injuries can result in chronic problems like seizures, memory loss and personality changes. I have always heard to avoid potential reinjuries for at least 6 months. That is so hard when a kid feels and looks fine. I've been lucky so far and have not been put in the situation to make a "well" kid sit out for a season, but it looks like that is probably the safest thing to do.

 

[JoFTZEW21]

In my opinion, anything that has to do with your head is important. Our school is really big on making sure we avoid concussions in football, cheerleading, hockey, and being careful with even soccer too. I got a concussion about 2 months ago and they took it very seriously because more times then not a concussion is not treated properly and the symptoms still occur for the victim. I know a boy on the football team who has had 4 concussions and they completely took him out of football for the rest of his highschool career because he was doing serious damage to his head. When they first told me I was benched for 3 and a half weeks, no pe or cheer, and i had to miss a few days of school it sounded ridiculous, but I'm glad i got what needed to be taken care of done, and not have to bench even LONGER and face possibly brain damage like you said above!

 

[kem1129]

I'm so glad that they're really taking concussions seriously now. I've had 5 concussions from cheerleading, my first being the fall of my junior year of high school and my last being my freshman year of college, so all of them occurred within a 2 year period. I don't cheer anymore because of all of my head injuries because my neurologist said that if I were to get another concussion the damage could be very severe either now or years down the road, and that I'm at an increased risk for Alzheimers or dementia as an adult since I was most likely getting concussions before properly healing from the previous one. I still get headaches on a regular basis and I'm noticeably slower when it comes to reading and writing than I was before all of the concussions. I won't say cheer wasn't worth it because cheerleading gave me some of my best memories, but maybe if there had been someone who made me sit out a little longer when I wanted to get back on the mat then I'd still be able to cheer. Please parents make sure that if your child has any signs of a concussion that you get them checked out, and remember that when it comes to any kind of head injury it's always better to be overly cautious because you can't mess around when it comes to your brain!

 

[justpeachy]

I have always been told by neurologists that the effects are cumulative and the greatest risk is with injuries that are close in time of occurrence. Repeat injuries can result in chronic problems like seizures, memory loss and personality changes. I have always heard to avoid potential reinjuries for at least 6 months.

This is basically what we were advised by the ER doctor when lil red received a (non cheer) concussion recently.

I was also told, no cheer or other activity until 2 weeks after any symptoms were gone. That was hard to do, because within a few days, she seemed fine.

 

[5-6-7-8]

Cp got a non cheer related concussion a few years ago. Her pediatrician and the hospital for both said she could resume cheer later in the week.

My uncle is a doctor and he had a friend doing studies on football players and concussions. My uncle said the same thing about cumulative damage and
Specifically the repeat head trauma risks. He said give it at least a month before resuming risky (tumbling, stunting) activities. I listened to my uncle. Luckily it was early fall so missing a month of sheer wasn't as difficult if it had been January.

 

[kickdblcj]

Im now starting to think that getting 4 concussions in 6 months wasnt such a good idea. Not that I planned them or anything lol.