Without warning, one wrong move can leave your whole world ringing and a fracture in your skull..
Hannah Hall, public relations sophomore and San Jose State women’s soccer player, experienced a mild concussion in the seventh grade which has continued to affect her all the way into her college years. She is plagued by symptoms such as light sensitivity and constant migraines.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines Traumatic Brain Injury, commonly known as concussions, as a “bump, blow, or jolt to the head that disrupts the normal function of the brain.”
March 4 is National Brain Injury Awareness Day, used to raise awareness for the 3.2 - 5.3 million Americans who live with long-term disabilities resulting from traumatic brain injuries, according to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.
Concussion symptoms run the gamut, including difficulty in thinking, irritability, lethargy and sleep disturbance.
“How do you have a headache every day of your life? It makes it not enjoyable,” Hall said.
The effects of severe traumatic brain injuries are well known because of the high publicity of injuries sustained by sports celebrities, but Traumatic Brain Injuries contributed to 30% of all injury-related deaths as of 2013, according to a CDC Morbidity and Mortality Report.
The effects of mild or moderate Traumatic Brain Injuries are less well documented. While not always instant or fatal, concussions can cause long-term damage.
However, some who experience concussions don’t see a doctor because the symptoms of mild Traumatic Brain Injuries do not manifest immediately or severely enough to warrant immediate care. According to a study from the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, 50% of concussions sustained by athletes are not reported.
“People don’t take it seriously enough,” Hall said.
To raise publicity about these long-term and unseen repercussions, Hall started the Head On Instagram page, where a community of athletes share their stories about living with concussions.
She is concerned about the public perception that concussions are a one-and-done affliction that you can simply heal from when the reality is that you may experience symptoms for the rest of your life.
Head On seeks to dispel this common myth and shed light on the plight of athletes, who otherwise may not have anyone to talk to that who can understand their experience dealing with concussions.
Hall likens a concussion to an “invisible scar,” and said it is as debilitating as any disability, but harder to detect.
“Head On was created to inform friends, family and teammates what dealing and healing with a concussion is like,” Hall said.
Caitlin McManus, communicative disorders and sciences sophomore and SJSU women’s soccer player, is a member of the Head On page and said she is grateful for the community.
McManus has suffered multiple concussions, which resulted in her experiencing unexplained bouts of anger and blackouts.
Her symptoms left her feeling alienated from her friends and teammates at times. Her isolating experience isn’t uncommon. A study conducted by The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences found that around 28% of people with
post-concussion syndrome experience a marked increase in verbal aggression against others.
McManus said the Head On community provided her a platform to speak to individuals with similar experiences.
The National Brain Injury Institute, another brain health organization, seeks to make the “invisible scar” visible by advocating for the use of diffusion tensor imaging.
DTI is a medical imaging technology that shows damage to the brain at a microscopic level, often missed by conventional MRI and CT scans, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information.
According to Dr.Huma Haider, founder of the National Brain Injury Institute, DTI technology is used on NFL players as part of the league’s concussion protocol, but otherwise doesn’t see much use.
Dr. Haider specializes in traumatic brain injuries and started the National Center for Biotechnology Information to campaign for the mainstream use of DTI technology, as well as the implementation of concussion protocols in every state.
Currently, the use of DTI is not covered by any insurance company and the procedure can cost up to $6,000.
According to Timothy Dillard, senior vice president of the National Brain Injury Institute, one of the main goals of the organization is for every state to enact a concussion protocol outside of athletics.
“Our goal is to get a concussion protocol for the everyday American,” he said.
Dillard said that the exact details of each state’s concussion protocols would likely vary depending on their needs, but should include a three to six month observation period to see if mild traumatic brain injury symptoms manifest.
He also said protocols should include the use of DTI to detect the damage that other methods may have missed.
Part of that goal is to also get insurance coverage for DTI procedures, making it more affordable and available for people.
Hall said that sometimes treatment just involves learning to work around the symptoms of a concussion.
“Living with a concussion is adapt or die,” said Hall.
