Girls & Concussions
November 1, 2007 - Girls
are getting more competitive and they are getting more
concussions. Now doctors warn as girls get their heads
in the game ... they better have safety on the brain.
Caitlyn Bestwina, soccer player: "I went up for a header and the girl took my
legs out from under me and I fell on my head and I blacked out."
When Caitlyn Bestwina is on the field her mind is on the game. She's been playing
soccer since age 5 ... and had more than five injuries.
Don Bestwina, Caitlyn's dad: "Had a spinal and cerebral concussion. She had lost
feeling down her left side. This something that could not only end a career but
be something that permanently damages her life."
Parents and young athletes kick around the choices ... commitment to competition
versus the risk of concussion.
Briana Clark, soccer player: "I've had two concussions."
And after each one, briana clark was back on the field in a few weeks.
Briana Clark: "When I went back to school after a couple of days I had a hard
time concentrating and I was still dizzy."
Chris Clark, Briana's mom: "The concussions are worrisome. We would like to save
brain cells for later on in life."
Earlier it was parents of boys who had this dilemma but doctors say girls are
catching up.
Dr. Leonard Cerullo, CINN Neurosurgeon: "Much more intense in terms of the things
they're doing, they're training harder."
The same intensity but not the same body ... that's why experts say girls are
in greater danger than boys in athletics.
Dr. Cerullo: "Bigger, thicker, more muscular necks, which wind up protecting
the head in case of an impact, and women tend not to have that kind of neck musculature,
although they may be very strong in the rest of the body."
Strengthening the neck can help slow the momentum and reduce the force of impact
on the brain. And be smart ... don't play after a head injury ... you may not
see the damage but it's there.
Dr. Cerullo: "When the head strikes something, the force stops with the skull,
but the brain keeps moving, and then the brain gets jumbled so to speak, or twisted,
or contorted."
"And these fibers having been ripped won't repair themselves, so that the cumulative
effect can be very significant."
"I don't think we were really designed for some of the contact sports that we
enjoy."
If you have one concussion that makes you more susceptible for another one. And
eventually doctors say there could be permanent damage.
|
