Concussions

What is a concussion? A concussion is a traumatic brain injury that alters the way your brain functions. More times than not, it is caused by temporary unconsciousness due to a blow to the head. Experiencing a traumatic blow to the head it affects the brain. Since the brain is made up of soft tissue surrounded by the skull, the brain can jolt to a point where it moves around. What a concussion often times does to the brain is “bruise” it or damage nerves and vessels. The causes of concussions vary, but typically it results from some sort of sport or accident. Athletes more commonly get them. Treatments for concussions depend on the severity of them. The list of signs and symptoms is fairly large; however, the basic one's include: confusion, clumsiness, slurred speech, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, behavior changes, unable to focus, memory loss, etc. Medication of course is an obvious treatment for the pain and headaches and if the concussion is severe, medial attention is needed to monitor brain activity. Doctors suggest to reduce all activity that requires hard thinking or anything physical (such as sports). If someone with a concussion continues to play a physical sport then they are prone to getting a second concussion. Physical therapist often suggest certain mind exercises to reduce dizziness and to improve balance. Even though some concussions don't noticeably affect the brain, a concussion does alter the way the brain functions because it can cause mental, physical, and emotional effects on the body.

The types and severity of the concussion are categorized by grades. There are a three different levels of concussions. Grade one is considered to be mild. A mild concussion has symptoms that only last up to fifteen or twenty minutes and does not result in any sort of unconsciousness. If the symptoms leave between fifteen to twenty minutes, then whom ever