6 This is alarming as heading is an important soccer skill and is employed up to 800 times in a single season at the professional level.7 Due to the prevalence of concussion and collision nature of soccer, it is imperative for coaches at all age levels to understand the basic principles of proper concussion recognition and management. The most common type of sports-related traumatic brain injury (TBI) is cerebral concussion. Although the term concussion is widely used, there is

no universally agreed Selleck INK128 upon definition of concussion. Despite this, concussions are often defined as a brain injury, induced by biomechanical forces, which results in a complex pathophysiological process affecting the brain. Additionally, the resulting clinical, pathological, and biomechanical features of the injury are often used to define concussion. Concussions are the result of forces transmitted to the head, through direct contact with the head, face, chest or elsewhere on the body. In soccer, another player, the ground, the goal post or the soccer ball itself can create these concussive forces. Concussions often result in rapid, but short-lived, impairment of neurological function. These clinical symptoms are often the result of functional disturbances

and buy Cabozantinib not structural injury. Thus, traditional imaging modalities (e.g., magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) scans) often result in negative findings when diagnosing a soccer player with concussion.8 Concussions are a form of diffuse brain injury, such that concussive injuries result in widespread disruption of neurologic functioning. A severe type of diffuse brain injury involves damage to the neuronal axons, which may lead to deficits in cognitive functioning such as difficulty remembering or concentrating. In its most severe Tryptophan synthase form, diffuse axonal injury can result in the disruption of brainstem centers responsible for

heart rate, breathing, and consciousness.9 and 10 However, even with this information in mind, it is important to understand that concussive injuries rarely result in sudden death. Additionally, the overwhelming numbers of concussions do not result in a loss of consciousness (LOC). More typically, concussive injuries catalyze a neurometabolic cascade in the brain. It is through this combination of axonal injury and neurometabolic dysfunction that gives rise to the common signs and symptoms associated with concussion. There are many signs and symptoms associated with concussive injuries. Signs of concussion are those deficits that can be observed by other individuals, specifically medical personnel. Concussive symptoms are deficits that we rely on the athlete to report to us.