Recognizing Concussions can Prevent Long Term Symptoms

This article in written by Clare Kaley at WSAW.com

 

 

When you think of concussions, most of us think of NFL players bumping heads or hockey players being checked into the boards. But not all concussions happen in high impact sports.

 

Riley Ferris has been swimming since before she could walk. But a concussions suffered while doing a flip turn in the pool nearly 10 months ago, made her a bit uneasy.

 

“I go into the wall, and i just stop, I don’t go anymore,” said Riley, “and like, I can’t do it I don’t know.”

 

Besides the immediate symptoms like dizziness, confusion or even losing consciousness, the long term effects of concussions can be even more dangerous.

 

“What we’ll often find is that there are cognitive problems, problems with attention and concentration,” explained clinical psychologist, Dr. David Pelo, “people will often have trouble handling multiple bits of information at the same time, so they can’t mentally multi-task.”

 

He says cases of concussions in young athletes, like Riley, can be difficult to diagnose.

 

“with more serious head injuries, there can be behavioral problems, mood problems, depression and anxiety, and we typically see this a lot in children because they know somethings not right but they can’t necessarily communicate it that well.”

 

While Riley gears up for a new swim season, she says she still struggles with some symptoms of her concussion.

 

“My headaches I get very often,” explained Riley, “around the time that I hit my head, so that is very odd for me because I only get those at a certain time.”

 

For now, she’ll just keep swimming.