A concussion is a brain injury that requires rest to heal and avoid repeat injury. This means no sports, activity or physical exertion. Until symptoms improve, rest also includes no studying, loud music, texting, computer or video game use, hanging out with friends or even attending classes.

It’s important to remember that a young athlete with a concussion will improve more quickly with rest from physical activities and cognitive activities like schoolwork. Concussions affect everyone differently, so the symptoms and the approach to care for each student will be different too.

You wouldn’t expect a student with a knee injury to perform a timed-running activity in gym class, so you also can’t expect a brain-injured student to perform well at school. Simple things like taking notes while paying attention to the teacher often are too difficult for these kids to tolerate.

It’s impossible to predict when that student will be back to normal, but we do know he or she will improve faster with brain rest and school accommodations. Music, choir, band or even a noisy lunchroom can be overwhelming because of excessive noise. The student should effectively use that time for rest in the nurse’s office, any necessary tutoring or study hall.

Our team of sports medicine specialists suggests that families and students openly communicate with school personnel about difficulties and progress. As students begin to move back to full academics, teachers can help the student prioritize new and make-up work, and help set a realistic timeline for completion of all assignments.

Proper management of a student with a concussion is a partnership. Only with this comprehensive approach to treatment can we take the stress off the injured student and allow them to recover more quickly.

I encourage you to follow us on Facebook and visit us on YouTube to learn more about concussions, get updates on other sports medicine topics and connect with our team.

~ Kevin Walter, MD, program director of pediatric and adolescent sports medicine, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin

Concussions are brain injuries and need to be taken seriously. They don’t just happen in professional sports, they happen in every sport, at any age, to boys and girls.

Concussions are treated much differently now than they were 10 years ago. While we have learned a lot about concussion, medical professionals continue to learn how to better recognize, treat and prevent short- and long-term consequences.

A concussion is a brain injury that temporarily alters brain functions. It usually happens after a direct blow to the head, but it also can happen from a blow elsewhere on the body where the force gets transmitted up to the head. Most young people are not knocked out, and many kids have no memory loss. Even a child with a normal MRI or CT scan of the brain can have a concussion, because it’s a functional injury, not damage to the brain’s structure.

After any hit to the head, it’s important to watch your child for any symptoms or signs of a concussion. Symptoms fall into four categories:

1. Cognitive. (Confusion, disorientation, memory loss, slow to answer questions and follow commands, easily distracted.)
2. Physical. (Headaches, nausea or vomiting, dizziness, clumsiness or balance problems, blurry vision, poor coordination, sensitivity to light or noise, or loss of consciousness.)
3. Emotional. (Nervousness or anxiousness, sadness, irritability or mood swings, inappropriate behavior.)
4. Sleep problems. (Difficulty falling asleep, frequent waking at night, fatigue or tiredness during the day.)

Any athlete with a concussion should stop playing immediately. He or she should never return to any activity (even jogging or weight lifting) the same day the concussion happened. This is important even if the symptoms last for 15 minutes then seem to go away.

All athletes with a concussion should be evaluated by an appropriate health care professional before returning to activity. Athletes also shouldn’t return to a sport while they are still having concussion symptoms.

Concussions in young people can last weeks or months. In fact, adolescents with concussions heal more slowly than adults. Symptoms of concussion can interfere with school, social activities and family relationships. Athletes who have had a concussion are at least twice as likely to suffer another one. Each concussion needs to be treated individually, and athletes who suffer multiple concussions will have more problems with recovery.

Treatment for a concussion involves rest from sports and physical activity. Through Children’s Hospital’s Concussion Clinic, we educate families, athletes, coaches and teachers about concussions, and guide a safe return-to-play program. We also use ImPACT™, a computerized testing program to help guide concussion treatment.

I can’t stress enough that all concussions are brain injuries and need to be taken seriously.

–Kevin Walter, MD, program director, Pediatric and Adolescent Sports Medicine

There are three main types of mouth guards: stock, boil and bite, and custom.

Stock mouth guards are available at your local drug store, and can be immediately removed from the package and placed in the mouth. Although they’re convenient, they tend to be very bulky and require the child to constantly bite down to hold the mouth guard in place.

A boil-and-bite mouth guard is the most commonly used mouth guard. It’s immersed in boiling water and then formed in the mouth using biting pressure. While these mouth guards are better than the stock versions, they also can be bulky and improperly fitted.

A custom mouth guard offers the best protection, but it’s the most expensive. It’s designed by your child’s dentist and offers the best fit with the least amount of material needed for safety. A custom mouth guard is a must for any player with braces.

Remember, any injury to the mouth needs immediate treatment. Cuts may need stitches, cracked or broken teeth may need cosmetic repairs and teeth that have moved may require repositioning and stabilization. If a tooth is completely knocked from the socket, it’s best to either immediately re-implant the tooth or store it in milk and quickly seek emergency dental treatment. Time is a key factor in most cases of dental injury.

-Kevin Walter, MD, program director, Pediatric and Adolescent Sports Medicine, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, and Lori Barbeau, DDS, medical director, Children’s Dental Center, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.

Learn more about Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin at chw.org.

In football alone, there are 100,000 concussions per year. Whether you’re an Olympian, high school athlete or simply sledding in the park, helmets are essential safety gear.

When buying a helmet, it’s important to remember a few guidelines:

• Make sure the helmet fits and your kids know how to put it on correctly. The risk of head injury doubles if the helmet is worn wrong.
• Helmets are made for specific activities (like skiing or football), so be sure you buy the right one. All helmets have warning labels on them about appropriate use. When in doubt, ask a trained professional for help.
• Be sure the helmet meets or exceeds safety standards.

For sports like hockey, facemasks have been shown to help prevent injuries too. Full-cage facemasks or those with visors are better than the half-visor style because they decrease the force of the impact during a collision.

Although no helmet can prevent all concussions, wearing a helmet can reduce the risk of head injury by as much as 85 percent.

Winners wear helmets. Enjoy the Olympics and go USA!

-Brian R. Butler, DPT, ATC/L, Physical Therapy, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Clinics-Greenway

Learn more about Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin at chw.org.

But did you know that each winter 24,500 kids are injured in sledding accidents? About 3,000 of these kids suffer a serious brain injury as a result. These are scary statistics that no parent wants to think about. A few simple precautions can help prevent many of these injuries:

• Wear a helmet. Wear a helmet. Wear a helmet.
• Check the sledding area before your child uses it.
• Look for bumps and ice.
• Make sure it’s away from traffic and doesn’t lead to lakes or rivers.
• Always supervise your child while he or she is sledding.
• Dress your child appropriately. Tuck in scarves and other loose clothing so nothing gets caught under the sled.
• Teach sled control – how to control the sled, fall off safely and stop.
• Require your child to sled sitting down, facing forward only.
• One person to a sled, unless it’s specifically designed for more than one rider.
• Promote fair play – no pushing or shoving.
• Wait your turn – make sure the hill in front of you is clear of sledders before you go.

Put safety first, and you’ll help ensure a fun and safe sledding season for your child.

–Kevin Walter, MD, program director, Pediatric and Adolescent Sports Medicine, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin

Concussions are treated much differently now than they were 25 years ago — or even five years ago. While we have learned a lot about concussion, medical professionals still are constantly learning how to better recognize, treat and prevent long-term consequences.

A concussion is a temporary injury to the brain. It usually happens after a direct blow to the head, but it also can happen from a blow elsewhere on the body where the force gets transmitted up to the head. Most young people are not knocked out, and many kids have no memory loss. Even without these symptoms, kids still can have a concussion.

After any hit to the head, it is important to monitor your child for any symptoms or signs of a concussion. Symptoms fall into three categories:

1. Cognitive. (Confusion, disorientation, memory loss, slow to answer questions and follow commands, easily distracted.)
2. Physical. (Headaches, nausea or vomiting, dizziness, clumsinees or balance problems, blurry vision, poor coordination, sensitivity to light or noise, loss of consciousness or sleep problems.)
3. Emotional. (Nervousness or anxiousness, sadness, irritability or mood swings, inappropriate behavior.)

Any athlete with a concussion should stop playing immediately and not continue until a medical professional examines him or her. This is important even if the symptoms last for 15 minutes then seem to vanish. Symptoms may come back, and athletes who start playing too soon or continue to play are at risk for second-impact syndrome, an injury that can result in permanent brain damage and death.

Concussions in young people can last weeks or months. In fact, adolescents with concussions heal more slowly than adults. Symptoms of concussion can interfere with school, social activities and family relationships. Athletes who have had a concussion are at least twice as likely to suffer another one. Each concussion needs to be treated individually, and athletes who suffer multiple concussions will have more problems with recovery.

Treatment for a concussion involves rest from sports and physical activity. Through Children’s Hospital’s Concussion Clinic, we educate families, athletes, coaches and teachers about concussions, and guide a safe return-to-play program. We also use ImPACT™, a computerized testing program to help guide concussion treatment.

I can’t stress enough that all concussions are brain injuries and need to be taken seriously.

–Kevin Walter, MD, program director, Pediatric and Adolescent Sports Medicine