Dr. Randy Borum: Concussions in combat sports
Sport-related concussions once again have hit the headlines. It is estimated that at least 300,000 of them occur every year….
Sport-related concussions once again have hit the headlines. It is estimated that at least 300,000 of them occur every year. Martial artists who do full-contact sparring are certainly at some risk for these injuries. But are concussions really such a big deal?
Medically, a concussion is considered to be a mild traumatic brain injury. It is caused either by some type of blunt trauma – such as a punch or kick- or by forces accelerating or decelerating the brain within the skull. Typically, there is no discernible damage to the structure of the brain, but concussions do temporarily disrupt brain functions. As a result, concussions are diagnosed and graded based on their symptoms rather than by neuroimaging. Basically, the severity of concussive injury depends on the nature, duration and extent of disrupted brain functions, not on the shape, size or color of what shows up on a brain scan.
Just because there are no signs of physical damage, doesn’t mean that no harm was done or that the injury isn’t serious.