11 Facts About Concussions

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1. A concussion is a mild form of traumatic brain injury (TBI) caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head. A concussion can also be caused by violent movement or jarring of the head or neck.^[Center for Disease Control. “Concussion and Mild TBI”. http://www.cdc.gov/concussion/. May 29th, 2014 (Accessed Nov 11th, 2014).]
2. People who suffer from concussions generally fully recover quickly. However, in some cases, symptoms can last for days or weeks.^[Center for Disease Control. “Concussion and Mild TBI”. http://www.cdc.gov/concussion/. May 29th, 2014 (Accessed Nov 11th, 2014).]
3. Those who have already had one concussion seem more susceptible to having another.^[Kenneth Maiese (January 2008). "Concussion". The Merck Manual Home Health Handbook.]
4. The most common causes of concussions are sports injuries (football, hockey, rugby, basketball, etc.), bicycle accidents, car accidents, and falls.^[Ropper AH, Gorson KC (2007). "Clinical practice. Concussion".New England Journal of Medicine 356 (2): 166–72. doi:10.1056/NEJMcp064645.PMID 17215534]
5. For about 9 in 10 people with concussions, symptoms disappear within 7 to 10 days.^[News in Health. “A Bang to the Brain: What we know about Concussions.” http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/issue/May2013/Feature1. May 2013 (Accessed Nov 11th, 2014).]
6. At least 25% of concussion sufferers fail to get assessed by medical personnel.^[Iverson GL (2005). "Outcome from mild traumatic brain injury".Current Opinion in Psychiatry 18 (3): 301–17.doi:10.1097/01.yco.0000165601.29047.ae. PMID 16639155.]
7. Most cases of traumatic brain injury are concussions.^[Cassidy JD, Carroll LJ, Peloso PM, Borg J, von Holst H, Holm L, et al. (2004). "Incidence, risk factors and prevention of mild traumatic brain injury: Results of the WHO Collaborating Centre Task Force on Mild Traumatic Brain Injury". Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine 36 (Supplement 43): 28–60.doi:10.1080/16501960410023732. PMID 15083870.]
8. In the US, athletes suffer from roughly 300,000 concussions every year.^[University of Pittsburgh Neurosurgery. “Concussions”. http://www.neurosurgery.pitt.edu/centers-excellence/brain-and-spine-injury/concussions. Accessed Nov 11th, 2014.]
9. Immediate consequences include headache, nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, fatigue, or unconsciousness.^[McCrory, P; Meeuwisse, W; Johnston, K; Dvorak, J; Aubry, M; Molloy, M; Cantu, R (Jul–Aug 2009). "Consensus statement on concussion in sport: the 3rd International Conference on Concussion in Sport held in Zurich, November 2008.". Journal of athletic training 44 (4): 434–48. doi:10.4085/1062-6050-44.4.434. PMC 2707064. PMID 19593427.]
10. In certain severe concussions, symptoms can linger for weeks or even months, due to a complication called post-concussion syndrome.^[Ryan LM, Warden DL (2003). "Post concussion syndrome". International Review of Psychiatry 15 (4): 310–316. doi:10.1080/09540260310001606692.PMID 15276952.]
11. Loss of consciousness is thought to occur in less than 10% of concussions.^[Cantu RC (1998). "Second-impact syndrome". Clinics in Sports Medicine 17 (1): 37–44. doi:10.1016/S0278-5919(05)70059-4. PMID 9475969.]