The Increase In Concussion Treatment In Toronto Hockey Players

By Jana Serrano


Head injuries among young sports players in Ontario are on the rise. The Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) reported in 2014 that from 2003 to 2010, the number of youngsters seeking concussion treatment in Toronto was on the rise. There are those who think that this is not necessarily a bad thing, because it may indicate that parents are more savvy about their children's injuries.

The Mayo Clinic defines concussion as a traumatic brain injury that alters the way the brain operates. Such alteration may be temporary or permanent and varies in severity. The symptoms include problems with balance, coordination and concentration or loss of memory. The seriousness of the injury does not always correlate with the level of symptoms. Even a slight blow to the head can cause serious or permanent damage.

The symptoms may not express themselves for several days, weeks or longer after the original blow. These include headache, confusion and memory loss. Additionally, there may be nausea and vomiting, ringing sounds in the ears, a feeling of pressure within the head, seeing stars or slurred speech. Children and toddlers may lose interest in their favorite toys, appear cranky or irritable, cry more than normal or change their sleeping and eating habits.

A knock on the head does not need to be overtly serious in order to cause a lasting injury to the brain. Sports players are notorious for wanting to get back into the game after being knocked on the head. This should not be permitted, as people have died or become permanently disabled after seemingly trivial head injuries. This is a high price to pay for a moment of glory, and there is always next year!

Concussions are particularly common in people who participate in contact sports. Hockey players are in a particularly high-risk group. Bodychecking is a defensive maneuver in which the player forcibly drives his shoulder, hip, elbow and upper arm into an opponent. According to the rules, this move is only legal when carried out against the player who has control of the puck.

In 2010, bodychecking to the player's blind side or to the head was outlawed in an effort to reduce the number of concussions suffered by young players. So far, this has not been the case. What is particularly worrying is that women hockey players, in whose sport bodychecking is prohibited completely, are experiencing higher rates of concussion than their male counterparts.

It turns out it is not just female hockey players who are getting more brain injuries, it is women in all sports and at all ages, from pro to college and even down to girls of nine or ten years old. Pee wee coaches are reporting more concussions among their players. In spite of the fact that women's hockey does not permit bodychecking, the incidence of concussions among these players is on the rise.

A chief neurosurgeon at a hospital in Massachusetts suggests that women may be more susceptible to concussions than men and that this merits further study. This increased vulnerability may be because women do not train their neck muscles as aggressively as do men. Higher rates may also indicate that women are more honest about reporting their head injuries.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment