This morning’s Cincinnati Enquirer caught my attention. It reported on
Cincinnati Red Zack Cozart getting hit in the head with a baseball.
John Frey wrote in his story that, “Cozart was given the SCAT2 test at the
ballbark. He passed it and did not get a CT scan. ” Cozart’s symptoms were
ringing in the ears andheadache. He was taken out of the game, but cleared by
the doctor to play the next day. There is a 7 day disabled list and the Reds
never considered it. Dusty Baker was quoted, “Not everybody who gets hit in the
head is seriously hurt..” Now that really concerns me. A concussion is defined
as a disturbance in brain function caused by a direct or indirect force to the
head.
Last time I looked I did not see a medical degree behind Dusty Baker’s name.
With all due respect, Dusty needs to stick to figuring out how to handle his
relievers. How many games has he cost the Reds. But that pales in significance
to his off handed statement that not everybody that gets hit in the head is
seriously hurt.
Modern medicine is becoming more focused on the perils people face with head
injuries. The empahasis is on early detection and early treament. In terms of
sports, if a concussion is suspected the participant should be removed from the
game and not returned to action until seen by a doctor and cleared to
return.
Parents of children participating in sports need to be particularly concerned
and watchful. We now know that a second concussion occuring before the first one
is healed can be life altering if not life threatening.
Concussions are very serious. We are learning more and more about concussions
each year. We know that the younger a person is when they suffer a concussion,
the more serious it can be — the concussion takes longer to recover, can more
easily recur, and can affect the development and function of the brain. It is
critical that concussions be managed by an expert with experience and tools to
treat and manage concussions.
Concussion is a common and potentially very serious injury. An estimated
136,000 high school students experience concussions during each academic year.
While football-related injuries make up about half of these concussions, other
contact sports such as soccer, basketball, and baseball contribute a sizeable
share as well.
When there is a suspicion someone suffered a concussion they should
be removed from play and medically assessed.
