Concussions - Causes & Symptoms

     We often hear the term called "Concussion" during some sporting events especially during Cricket matches. When a high speed bowl just hits the helmet or head, the game is halted for few minutes and Physio runs into the field to do a Concussion test.

     Inside the Skull of the brain there is a shock absorbing fluid protecting the brain. During Concussion, the brain bounces around in the skull, accelerating, decelerating or rotating. This creates a series of impact in the brain. The neurons in the brain are rattled and between those neurons there are axons - a thin fibre that transmits electrical impulse, stretches or breaks. This impact has severe affect on the blood flow to the brain and damages the energy producing mitochondria in the neurons. You can compare it with an earthquake within the brain. These are also called as Traumatic Brain Injury.

Symptoms of Concussion:

• Headaches
• Dizziness
• Nausea or Vomiting
• Feeling Pressure inside the head
• Blurred Vision
• Sensitive to Light or Sound
• Hearing a ringing voice
• Having Imbalance
• Feeling Drowsy and Lethargic.
• Brain Fog - Difficulty in Concentrating
• Nervous or extremely anxious
• Hard time feeling asleep.

Brain damaging habits

1. No BreakfastPeople who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level.This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration.2. OvereatingIt causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power.3. SmokingIt causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease.4. High Sugar consumptionToo much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing color=blue size=4>malnutrition and may interfere with brain development.5. Air PollutionThe brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency.6. Sleep DeprivationSleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells. 7. Head covered while sleepingSleeping with the head covered, increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects. color=red size=4>8. Working your brain during illnessWorking hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain.9. Lacking in stimulating thoughtsThinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage.10. Talking RarelyIntellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain.