Concussion Program: Critical care for head injuries

If you play a sport, a concussion is a very real possibility. You can get a concussion from an accidental blow to the head, a fall, or through normal play—by head-butting the ball in soccer or volleyball, for example. If you are not sure if your head injury is serious, look for these symptoms:

• Headache
• Dizziness
• Confusion
• Ringing in your ears
• Blurred vision
• Difficulty sleeping
• Upset stomach and/or vomiting
• Sensitivity to light or noise
• Memory lapses and other issues with concentration or thought
• Difficulty remembering new information

Concussions in sports have been much in the news recently, and many parents, coaches, and athletes are looking for ways to avoid long-term damage from a blow to the head.

• Balance Error Scoring System to see how well you can keep your balance
• Balance testing using the portable BioSway balance system
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to see damage that can't be seen using x-rays
• Susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI), a special kind of imaging used during an MRI to detect bleeding and other tissue damage
• Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to see microscopic details in your brain tissue