# Head Injuries



## cyclelicious (Oct 7, 2008)

Sharing this well written article about concussions. Lot's of mtb content. I've had mild concussions over the years but I've never lost consciousness and always took time out for full recovery... I don't want to use up all my nine lives.

Impact Zone | Outside Online

(Long but well worth the read)


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## sleepyguy1001 (May 26, 2014)

Good article. I haven't been at it as long as most people on here it seems, but I was knocked unconscious this summer when I wrecked. The ER doctor said I had a mild concussion, but now thinking back on it, that was it. There was nothing said about other than it was there. Lots of advice about how to care for the road rash and fractures, but nothing about the concussion.


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## LadyDi (Apr 17, 2005)

Thanks for the share. I suffered a knock-out concussion in June (road crash), along with a shoulder injury. The blow was to my right temple and broke my helmet in several places. The concussion headache was terrible and lasted for days. ER doc said I'd be sore for a while- understatement! I followed up with a neurologist, who advised that a second concussion within a month could be "exceedingly dangerous". That warning, plus my torn shoulder, was enough to keep me off the bike for the duration. During my time-out I shopped for a fresh, safer helmet and pedaled my spin bike indoors. 

A lesser-known side effect of concussion is that balance (proprioception) may be impaired for a while due to the impact effect on the inner ear. For two weeks post-concusion I'd occasionally find myself slant-walking/bumping into walls without a hint of dizziness. Always rest and fully recover after any concussion!


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## Barman1 (Jan 8, 2014)

I've suffered many concussions, the last being in December, and the long term effects are becoming apparent.
Mostly dizziness and forgetfulness and
I get a little wobbly occasionally.
I'll never stop riding though, just need to stop crashing.
Thanks for the link Judy!


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## cyclelicious (Oct 7, 2008)

Thanks for the feedback and I'm glad that many forum members have found the article helpful!


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## Btownrider (Aug 24, 2013)

Just my two cents and a personal story of caution. I've had "concussion like" symptoms from a pretty bad wreck a year and a half ago. The initial symptoms went away within about a month, unfortunately that didn't last. Something provoked visual and vestibular disturbances about 11 months later and I've been battling that for the last 7 months. Multiple trips to concussion clinic, MRI(s), physical therapy, occupational therapy, visual therapy. It has had a very long lasting effect on my eyes and I've had convergence issues (eyes don't work together as a team). I am finally starting to get a grip on it now, but it has been a horrible 7 months. None of this stopped me from riding, but it was always in the back of my mind and in the forefront when I would get dizzy and couldn't focus on the trail. 
I'm lucky enough to work in a large health that offers all the services that I need at my fingertips so I'm lucky in that sense. Concussions are no joke. Treat them with the same care you would with a broken bone or torn ligament. Your brain needs to heal and come back to an equilibrium. Take care everyone and keep the rubberside down!


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## cyclelicious (Oct 7, 2008)

Thanks for your post Btown. Keep shreddin'


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## dmo (Apr 21, 2006)

Good read but a bit depressing for anyone who's ever hit their head

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk


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## cyclelicious (Oct 7, 2008)

More info to share on concussions:



> *Heads up: A neurologist explains how to spot and protect yourself from concussions*
> 
> Concussions have been making headlines in the sports world lately, but they're a serious health risk for everyone. Close to 150,000 Canadians experience some kind of brain injury each year - more than those affected by MS, HIV/AIDS, spinal cord injuries and breast cancer combined. This means that one person suffers from a brain injury of some sort every three minutes, and that number could be even higher because a lot of people aren't aware of their own head injuries. Since the majority of injuries are mild, many go unreported, making them an important public health concern. Injuries to the brain can affect interpersonal relationships, impact productivity at work and even someone's ability to contribute to their community so they're definitely something we should all be aware of. So Dr. Sara Mitchell, neurologist at Sunnybrook Hospital, stopped by The Goods to help explain the ins and outs of this common but serious brain injury.
> 
> ...


Sauce: Heads up: A neurologist explains how to spot and protect yourself from concussions | CBC Life


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## dr.dirt (May 4, 2004)

That's a really great piece. I was interviewed for it, and they really do a great job on the pathophysiology for TBI's and CTE. But the thing that gets lost in the mix is the population that they are describing is a very high risk group. We already know CTE happens in contact sports. Most would not characterize cycling as a contact sport, but Mira and Giovi sure as hell were contact athletes. They met the main known risk for CTE, repetitive head trauma.
The known risk is cumulative impacts from the concussion perspective especially at an early age. Now I was just at Highland Park in NH, and holy crap it was fun. And there are some kids maybe 12-13 just hucking it Friggin amazing. But you as a rider and maybe a parent need to confront this risk. But not because you might get a concussion, but rather that you can get a lot of them.
Concussions are a temporary injury. 80% clear up in 72 hours. Unfortunately there is often a delay to diagnosis especially in the case of non sports related injury. Meaning it happens off the playing field. They end up in the ED and there is a crappy track record of departments notifying the patients of a possible concussion. Possible because concussive symptoms do not become well defined until around 24-72 hours later. So while you might not have these symptoms at the time of assessment you can develop it later. A coach, teacher or parent is likely to pick it up, and there are well established resources for them. For the rest of us, there's a low chance the ED will tell you about a possible concussion, and virtually zero resources for non sport concussions. So you need to be vigilant about it and don't try and bull your way through during those first couple days. 
Bottom line 1. ride your bike, enjoy it, ride hard. 2. don't be an idiot.


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## bachman1961 (Oct 9, 2013)

Thanks for sharing, I'll follow along and read the long stuff.

In 1981, I was tossed from a Jeep landing on the back of my head in the road. Was pretty out of it and semi comatose for a week, then everything got better. Had a 'babysitter' for a few weeks and stories of my behavior are odd, scary and funny.

In 1995, I was hit by a fast-moving DUI driver, catching me at a t-bone type hit, driver door but a slight angle trapping me in the car. Broken bones, surgery, heart contusion and (diagnosed a week later after release) a closed head injury. Confusion, spotty memory, short temper among other symptoms.


My take aways are; 

-You never really know what your 'baseline' is until it's mentioned after something happens.

-You can and will learn to adapt and it was far better to find out this last injury and realize there were some reasons why I was having these odd troubles. 
Not understanding how or why I couldn't recall things (it was like it never happened) and being easily overwhelmed or confused was really frustrating. Again, knowing these are realated to something that happend to you is a big relief and somehow helps with the coping.

-Lastly, Workers Comp screws the pooch.


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## bachman1961 (Oct 9, 2013)

Btownrider said:


> Just my two cents and a personal story of caution. I've had "concussion like" symptoms from a pretty bad wreck a year and a half ago. The initial symptoms went away within about a month, unfortunately that didn't last. Something provoked visual and vestibular disturbances about 11 months later and I've been battling that for the last 7 months. Multiple trips to concussion clinic, MRI(s), physical therapy, occupational therapy, visual therapy. It has had a very long lasting effect on my eyes and I've had convergence issues (eyes don't work together as a team). I am finally starting to get a grip on it now, but it has been a horrible 7 months. None of this stopped me from riding, but it was always in the back of my mind and in the forefront when I would get dizzy and couldn't focus on the trail.
> I'm lucky enough to work in a large health that offers all the services that I need at my fingertips so I'm lucky in that sense. Concussions are no joke. Treat them with the same care you would with a broken bone or torn ligament. Your brain needs to heal and come back to an equilibrium. Take care everyone and keep the rubberside down!


Is that visual issue called a mid-line shift ?

I was diagnosed with that (head injury is the main (only?) cause for that issue. I never really understood it and not sure if I have enough to worry about. I was told I might need or should get prismatic glasses.

Other feedback here on dizziness is definitely an issue with me and I just mention it as vertigo if I need to tell anyone of it. Feeling like that few seconds after riding an elevator.

I also had a pretty significant hearing loss.


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## stripes (Sep 6, 2016)

bachman1961 said:


> Is that visual issue called a mid-line shift ?
> 
> I was diagnosed with that (head injury is the main (only?) cause for that issue. I never really understood it and not sure if I have enough to worry about. I was told I might need or should get prismatic glasses.
> 
> ...


I think there is a visual issue that has to do with the midline. I can ask my vision therapist about this.

My first concussion was my mother trying to put me through a wall at 14. I've hit my head a few times, including one time I couldn't get out of my clipless pedals and ended up diving 10 feet down a dry creek bed, landing sitting up, but my head hurt and my helmet had a crack in it.

I've had a couple of spills over the past couple of years, and I get a lot of grief wearing a full face helmet doing simple jumps, but I like the extra protection.

I've had some issues with focusing and getting my eyes to relax. I've also had issues on the left side vision dropping focus, which has a lot to do with ledgy left side falling trails wig me out.


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## cyclelicious (Oct 7, 2008)

On September 26, I attended the launch of Rowan's Law Day. The event was marked by a clinical concussion update facilitated by former hockey player Eric Lindros and Dr Dan Cass VP at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Rowan Stringer, 17, died after suffering multiple concussions during rugby games, leading to what's known as second impact syndrome, catastrophic brain swelling caused by a second injury to a healing brain. She collapsed on the field on May 8, 2013, and died four days later. Her death led to a coroner's inquest, and the jury recommendations required the Rowan's Law Advisory Committee to provide advice to the government with respect to head injury prevention and treatment

























Some take away learning from the presentation:

Questions you might want to ask about concussions&#8230;..
If you're:

Questions you might want to ask about concussions&#8230;..
If you're:

An athlete and you suspect a concussion, ask your health care professional for a recovery plan that you can follow.
A parent/guardian, ask your child's sport club about their concussion, prevention and management policies.
A coach, ask your organization about potential concussion training available to you.
An educator, ask your principal about your school's return-to-sport and return-to-learn concussion policies.

Resources and Information
To support your Rowan's Law Day event, here are some resources on concussions and concussion safety.

parachute: Parachute - Preventing Injuries. Saving Lives.

fact sheet: http://www.mtc.gov.on.ca/en/publications/Concussion_Fact_Sheet_EN.pdf

More info here: Rowan's Law Day


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