A new school year is right around the corner. Parents are getting
school supplies ready, tax-free clothes are being bought, and doctors
appointments are being scheduled. If you are the parent of a youth
athlete, then it's extremely important to get baseline testing done for
concussions.
Youth Head Injuries On the Rise
It's no secret that head injuries have become one of the most important topics in sports. With the excitement of professional and collegiate football right around the corner, it's important to know that our youth and high school athletes are the ones at greatest risk.
Research shows that just one concussion can cause problems in the brain in the long term. Some new studies even show that having a concussion puts athletes at risk for other injuries including ACL tears and ankle sprains. The more head injuries someone has over time, the greater the risk for memory problems, depression, headaches, and dementia.
What Can You Do About it?
When it comes to head injury, there's not a lot we can do to prevent them from ever happening again. Contact sports just come with that heightened risk that we have to accept on some basic level.
With that being said, there are preventative treatments available to make sure that the head is more resilient to injury, and that your doctor is more prepared to treat a head injury if it does happen. Here are some tips that can help:
1. Get baseline concussion testing done on all of your athletes. This includes your female athletes who are often neglected in this conversation. When athletes get baseline testing done before a concussion happens, it allows a doctor to make appropriate treatment recommendations, and have an accurate goal for returning the athlete to school and play. Without the baseline testing, you are dealing with a "best guess" situation.
Make sure to get this done by a trained physical therapist, neurologist, or primary care doctor who is trained in concussion testing protocols.
2. Protect the Neck: Concussion researchers are paying more attention to the role of the neck in head injuries. The neck is the most neurologically sensitive part of the spine. Injuries to the neck can often mimic concussion symptoms, or can exacerbate concussion symptoms.
NUCCA Chiropractors are specifically trained to evaluate the structure of the neck. By ensuring that your have normal structural integrity and ideal spinal mechanics in the neck, you can have an effective way to protect the neck from further injury.
3. Strengthen the Neck: A big culprit in head/neck injury comes down to the strength of the neck muscles. This may be one of the reasons female athletes suffer from concussions while playing soccer and lacrosse. Although they did not suffer a direct head contact, the whipping motion of the neck causes the brain to move and lead to concussion.
Seeing a trainer that is well versed in strengthening of the neck may have a protective effect against concussions. This goes for ALL sports including football, basketball, hockey, lacrosse, and even equestrian sports.
One of the benefits of our office is that we offer neck strengthening programs in addition to structural correction, so that athletes can have a comprehensive approach to preparing for the upcoming sports season.
Have fun, and be safe out there.
Youth Head Injuries On the Rise
It's no secret that head injuries have become one of the most important topics in sports. With the excitement of professional and collegiate football right around the corner, it's important to know that our youth and high school athletes are the ones at greatest risk.
Research shows that just one concussion can cause problems in the brain in the long term. Some new studies even show that having a concussion puts athletes at risk for other injuries including ACL tears and ankle sprains. The more head injuries someone has over time, the greater the risk for memory problems, depression, headaches, and dementia.
What Can You Do About it?
When it comes to head injury, there's not a lot we can do to prevent them from ever happening again. Contact sports just come with that heightened risk that we have to accept on some basic level.
With that being said, there are preventative treatments available to make sure that the head is more resilient to injury, and that your doctor is more prepared to treat a head injury if it does happen. Here are some tips that can help:
1. Get baseline concussion testing done on all of your athletes. This includes your female athletes who are often neglected in this conversation. When athletes get baseline testing done before a concussion happens, it allows a doctor to make appropriate treatment recommendations, and have an accurate goal for returning the athlete to school and play. Without the baseline testing, you are dealing with a "best guess" situation.
Make sure to get this done by a trained physical therapist, neurologist, or primary care doctor who is trained in concussion testing protocols.
2. Protect the Neck: Concussion researchers are paying more attention to the role of the neck in head injuries. The neck is the most neurologically sensitive part of the spine. Injuries to the neck can often mimic concussion symptoms, or can exacerbate concussion symptoms.
NUCCA Chiropractors are specifically trained to evaluate the structure of the neck. By ensuring that your have normal structural integrity and ideal spinal mechanics in the neck, you can have an effective way to protect the neck from further injury.
3. Strengthen the Neck: A big culprit in head/neck injury comes down to the strength of the neck muscles. This may be one of the reasons female athletes suffer from concussions while playing soccer and lacrosse. Although they did not suffer a direct head contact, the whipping motion of the neck causes the brain to move and lead to concussion.
Seeing a trainer that is well versed in strengthening of the neck may have a protective effect against concussions. This goes for ALL sports including football, basketball, hockey, lacrosse, and even equestrian sports.
One of the benefits of our office is that we offer neck strengthening programs in addition to structural correction, so that athletes can have a comprehensive approach to preparing for the upcoming sports season.
Have fun, and be safe out there.
Dr. Jonathan Chung is a Doctor of Chiropractic who focuses on
Structural Correction and is primarily concerned with Structural Shifts
of the spine. He graduated from the University of Central Florida with a
B.S. in Microbiology and Molecular Biology. Dr. Chung then went on and
received his doctorate from Life University's College of Chiropractic.
Dr. Chung is certified in pediatrics from the International Chiropractic
Pediatric Association, and is a Structural Chiropractic Researcher who
has been published in scientific peer-reviewed journals.
