ST LOUIS, Mo – Over the years, man has quickly come to understand the importance of the head to his health and well-being. What he may have overlooked over that time frame was that the head, and more specifically the brain and central nervous system also need to have their health and well-being considered as well. As man has begun to advance his knowledge of his body he has also developed a better understanding for how the body works. While simple elements have long been understood and well comprehended, others have not been considered or even evaluated due to a misunderstanding of what the object is or the inability to examine the specific portion of the human anatomy effectively. While understandings such as disease have existed hundreds of years, other anatomical understandings are still being discovered every day. One case in point is the recent discovery that the gall bladder in fact creates insulin. Another is what happens to the brain when we have a violent impact to our head. The idea of a concussion is as old as medical history. The issue with a head injury has never been is something wrong, but how in fact have we been impacted by such. For years it was simply understood that a concussion was a bruise to the brain, and therefore would only need time to heal as would a bruise on any other part of the body. However, this mentality only dates back to the 1980’s when the severity of what had happened to a concussed person had just begun to be understood. Prior to that time frame the mentality was that a person had simply “had their bell rung.” While the attempt to deal with the injury has never been light of heart, the understanding to what has occurred has increased. It is now understood that the body needs a time of re-healing, and may also not be able to fully re-heal itself. As with any new idea comes great confusion of definition. I will try my best to deliver a series of articles that will not only examine the past, present, and future of concussions, but will also look to give perspective to each individuals need to understanding as such. I have spent several months collecting and reviewing data from research institutions, physicians, team trainers and doctors, and I have lived for several years as one whom has suffered several concussions over the years. I will use the knowledge basis of the medical field and apply it to simplified terms, as after all I believe understanding the issue the concern is more important than anything else. At times I will use personal examples from myself and will also attempt to relay other case studies. My goal is not to scare the reader, but rather to help the young student athlete, the parent, the coach, the doctor, the administrative directors, the weekend warriors, and the family of those living with this condition to understand what has happen, what to expect, and what to apply to aid in helping one recover and deal with the effects of a simple concussion that may in fact be a serious head injury. What is a Concussion?
The word concussion comes from the Latin concutere, which means “to shake violently.” The idea and terminology of the concussion dates back to Hippocratic Corpus, a collection of medical documents from Ancient Greece – essentially the Ancient Greek Physician’s Desk Reference. While Hippocrates the author of Hippocratic Corpus documented his basic findings of symptoms of a concussion, it would not be until the 10th Century when a Persian physician named Muhammad ibn Zakariya Razi would notate that a concussion was in fact its very own separate form of a head injury and not a secondary concern. Physicians struggled to understand what physiological effects the concussion had upon a patient even after the invention of the microscope in the 17th Century. Since development of the microscope, much has been seen and understood, yet so much more has yet to be comprehended. While the physically visible effects of a concussion can be seen, what cannot be seen is the neurological damage that has occurred. The brain does so much more the expand and contract like a muscle, it does not remain rigid for support like a bone, and it does not create a chemical compound used for separating sugars from proteins from fats within our foods as does the stomach. Rather than perform a rather simple task with easily definable steps like many of our other more complex organs, the brain does so with an electrical fire known as a synapse. What has yet to be understood is the effect that a concussion has upon the brains ability to develop, deliver, and define each synapse. The brain sits suspended within a fluid known as the meninges. This series of three layers is a simple fluid that allows for the brain to sit comfortably and acclimate to our constant movement of our daily life without feeling harsh effects of such. The meninges is yet one more of many portions of the brain that can be effected when a person sustains a head injury. Given all that occurs when a person suffers an impact to their head, it is safe to say that like the meninges, the remaining portion of the brain is absorbing the impact as well. I will begin my next portion defining each part of the brain, its function, and commonly related injuries to such. I welcome all questions from the reader as well as any comments that you may have. I hope that you will find these articles enriching to your life as you develop a better understanding to what may be the polio, HIV, or bubonic plague of our modern time. You may contact the author at john.strathman@prohockeynews.com
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