Does my teen need to quit sports after three concussions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look up counterstrain. There are some providers close to DC. It is a new technique where they can help people make more of a full recovery from concussion.

+100

This helped my kid recover from his concussion. Counterstrain has worked on people with TBI. Definitely check it out. Non-invasive and painless way to reduce inflammation in the brain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Switch to the country club sports — golf and tennis.

Tennis has tons of injuries. I’ve had a coworker come in with a black eye and bruises from a tumble she took while playing tennis.

Stop with the bizarre false equivalencies. Lacrosse/football are different in terms of concussion risk than tennis/golf. Period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He needs his brain for the rest of his life. Lacrosse not so much. There is your answer.

This is my thinking. What is so important about this one particular sport? What's it going to get him other than life long brain injury?

Because the family’s whole life is about the sports. The parents all hang out and have fun on the trips. Likely it’s not just the kid who will be missing out, hence the hesitating to stop playing.

[Anonymous]

This thread disgusts me, the OP is a failure of a parent. I hope your child survives.

[Anonymous]

Yes

Track or swimming. No football, rugby, lacrosse or soccer

[Anonymous]

Track, cross country, swimming and water polo are so much better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Well, I mean track & field or swimming would be great.

You can bang your head swimming colliding with a swimmer coming the other way or miscounting your backstroke strokes into the wall.

Yep. My son sustained a concussion during swim team practice. He was kicked in the head.

[Anonymous]

My highly regarded physical therapist told me the only sport he would allow his kids to play is racquet sports. But keep on ignoring expert advice OP—I’m sure you are one of the “do your own research” people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread disgusts me, the OP is a failure of a parent. I hope your child survives.

Nice. I hope your child inherits their other parent’s personality.

[Anonymous]

Of course he should. Why pay a doctor if you are going to ignore his advice?

Your child will need a well functioning brain to support himself, to manage a household, to parent offspring.

Concussions can lead to memory and learning problems, psychiatric problems (including suicide), and dementia. Previous concussions are also a significant risk factor for future concussions. Even mild multiple concussions can lead to these outcomes.

Please put your child’s health first.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8902648/

https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2023-01-31-three-or-more-concussions-linked-worse-brain-function-later-life

[Anonymous]

Read about Rowan’s law in Canada. Rowan was a teen who had a few mild concussions and kept playing rugby. Then the next time she was hit, she died.

It led to a lot of education on concussions for coaches, parents and players as well as a removal from play and return to play policy.

Concussions are brain injuries and not something to take lightly.

[Anonymous]

Top 5 sports for concussions are
1. Rugby
2. Ice hockey
3. Football
4. Lacrosse
5. Soccer

For girls, cheerleading is in the top 5. (Football isn’t in he girls too 5).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This seems to be a revived old thread. I suspect when enough people see the impact of CTE up close like I have with a friend who was a football and wrestling star in high school and college, it will be a "no-brainer" to stick to safer sports, especially if your kid already got a concussion.

Most people do risk assessment and are aware of the possible negative outcomes. We drive even though we know people who have died from it. We drink even though we know it raises our risk of cancer. We eat crappy food despite knowing about heart disease and diabetes.

And that’s because most people can do these things without experiencing the dire consequences. We know lots of people who played football and other physical sports and don’t have CTE. It’s scary to see it—but it’s also impossible to avoid risk in life. So we try to do our best: minimize risk here and there but only in places where it doesn’t destroy our quality of life.

It’s not black and white.

It is when your whole life lies ahead of your child, and you are the grownup responsible for setting them up for success.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread disgusts me, the OP is a failure of a parent. I hope your child survives.

Nice. I hope your child inherits their other parent’s personality.

How can you not see the desperate need for the OP to have sporting success at the sacrifice of their child's mental health? You're either the same, or a total moron. Maybe both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A concussion is a concussion. Absolutely he should be out of whatever sport is causing that rate of injury at only 15. Find a new sport.

It is a brain injury.

For sure he needs to drop the sport that he causing this.

Sorry, but damage is cumulative, and life is long.

It is misinformation like this that drives me nuts. One can build on another but that depends on the closeness to when it happened and what happened. It is also not life long in almost all cases. In almost every one there is complete healing.

An issue is if they come before the prior one has completely healed and then another and then another. But we do not have enough facts here.

OP -- I would not rely on your kid's regular doctor at all for this. You need to go to a specialist. There are several out there but INOVA has a sports medicine practice that focuses on this. You need advice. They may say that DC should drop the sport. They may say there is continuing damage. But they also may say no issue because they were spaced far apart and had healed. They can also take a base line so if there is anything in the future they can determine if there is damage.

NO expert will say 3 concussions already, in an adolescent, is “no issue.”