A study, published Oct. 16 in Neurology, reveals that the brain of an athlete who has suffered a concussion may not be fully restored one year after returning to the field.
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10,000 steps and more. The subject of concussion is constantly coming back to the forefront of the sports scene, and often tragically. The young American boxer Patrick Day died following a violent knockout, Saturday, October 12. Welsh flyhalf Dan Biggar was allowed to play Sunday [October 20th], despite two concussions at the Rugby World Cup in Japan.
A study, published on October 16 in the online edition of Neurology reveals that the brain of an athlete who has suffered a concussion may not be fully restored one year after returning to the field. The study was conducted on 24 university athletes, men and women equally distributed, having suffered concussion, and 122 without concussion, in different sports.
Lower blood flow
The athletes' brains were scanned by MRI four days after the shock, when they returned to play, and a year later. In comparison to those who have not suffered these injuries, the work shows traces of lesions in certain parts of the brain in athletes who have been concussed, when they replay and a year later. Likewise, their blood flow in the brain is lower. In contrast, brain connectivity measurements returned to normal. The question is whether these lesions heal or not.
"It is increasingly clear that the healing of a concussion may not be complete, even when symptoms such as headaches and vertigo are gone and the athlete is allowed to return to the game. important to determine if various aspects of the brain injury disappear over time, or may be permanent "says study author Nathan W. Churchill of St Michael's Hospital in Toronto, Canada.
"This study is interesting because it shows that, according to certain criteria, including brain imaging, after a year there are persistent stigmas of concussion"says Jean-François Chermann, neurologist referent, including the Stade Français, Racing 92, PSG, and co-expert of the French Rugby Federation. "You have to be realistic and respect certain rules: first, never leave a player on the field concussed, do not let a player who still suffers from his concussion with signs like headaches, fatigue …"continues the specialist.
