A concussion is an injury to the brain that is caused by a blow to the head. Concussions are the most common head injuries in sports. A concussion may cause a person to become temporarily confused, disoriented, have memory loss (amnesia), or become unconscious.

How does it occur?

A concussion occurs when you are hit in the head, jarring your brain. The most common sports for concussions are football, gymnastics, ice hockey, and wrestling. However, concussions can occur in any sport or activity where you may get hit in the head.

What are the symptoms?

If you have had a concussion you may have any of the following symptoms:

• Confusion

• Disorientation

• Memory loss (amnesia)

• Loss of consciousness

• Nausea

• Dizziness

• Headache

• Loss of balance

You may experience these symptoms, called post-concussive syndrome, for several days or weeks after the injury. Concussions are graded as I, II, III, depending upon the severity of the confusion, amnesia, or loss of consciousness.

How is it diagnosed?

Your doctor will examine you and find out what happened. If you have amnesia, the doctor may need to get this information from other people who were there. The doctor will do a neurologic examination, testing your strength, sensation, balance, reflexes, and memory. He or she will also examine your eyes with a flashlight to see if your pupils are of equal size. Your doctor may choose to do a special x-ray called a computed tomography (CT) scan or a magnetic resonance image (MRI) of your head to be sure there is no damage to your brain.

How is it treated?

The treatment for a concussion is rest. The headache may be treated with a mild pain reliever and the nausea may be treated with a medication for nausea. To avoid complications from the concussion, it is very important that you do not return to your sport or activity too soon. In a very mild concussion, you may be allowed to return to your sport or activity after 20 to 30 minutes. If there has been a loss of concusiousness, then you may not be able to return for 1 week. After a severe concussion, you nay not be able to return to sports for up to 1 month. If you have repeated concussions, your doctor may talk to you about limiting your participation in certain sports.