Concussion & Head Injuries
Concussion & Head Injuries
How do I spot it?
If you have been knocked out, then there’s a good chance you may have concussion.
The telltale symptoms are headache, dizziness, nausea, confusion, double vision, tinnitus and disruption to sleep.
The physical signs are much like that of someone who is drunk; poor co-ordination, slurred speech, vomiting and impaired performance.
How do I treat it?
You should seek medical assistance for a neurological assessment and possibly a CT-Scan to check for spinal or brain injury.
If you were unconscious for more than 5 minutes, then observation in hospital is recommended.
You should remember there is the possibility of a delayed bleed around the brain, the consequences for which can be fatal.
So it is better to be safe than sorry and get checked out.
How do I avoid it?
Your choice of break is obviously a huge factor.
Surfing over shallow reef or in a heavy shore dump will greatly increase your chance of trauma to the head, so choose carefully.
A hard shelled helmet is great for reducing lacerations but there is limited evidence for it reducing the risk posed by concussive forces.
However, it is thought that improved strength of the neck muscles allow a greater absorption of forces that impact the head so it might be worth looking to include neck strengthening in your training.
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