Cerebral Concussion: A Baseball Injury
Concussion is the most common head injury in sports. Its hallmarks are confusion and amnesia. When an object such as a pitched baseball imparts its kinetic energy to a person's skull, considerable pathologic consequences may ensue. Shearing strains produce hemorrhage and destroy neurons. At present, there are several schemes available for the classification of concussions. These may provide guidelines for injury management. Although the symptoms of concussion are usually self-limited, a small number of patients develop postconcussion syndrome.
Although concussions are extremely common, they are potentially dangerous. Indeed, head injuries are the leading cause of death among people under 24 years of age (Fick, 1995, pp. 53-60). Of all the mild head injuries though, sports-related concussive events have the following distinct characteristics: (1) They are generally milder in degree; (2) they are not often associated with other injury; (3) they are frequently witnessed; (4) they are often managed by nonmedical personnel; and (5) management decisions can be influenced by nonmedical considerations (e.g., a player's desire to return to competitive play) (Vollmer & Dacey, 1991, pp. 437-452).
Head injuries occur in a variety of different sports. They may ensue when athletes impelled by motors or sleds are brought into violent contact with their environment. More commonly though, such injuries occur when there is violent contact between competitors (Ryan, 1991, pp. 81-86). A moderate sports-related concussion might also result from being hit in the head by a pitched baseball.
The term, concussion, can be used to describe a "sharp sudden blow or collision" (Ryan, 1991, pp. 81-86). Additionally however, the word, concussion, is used to describe the physical injury which is caused by the collision. Hence, in a medical sense, a concussion may be defined as "a temporary di...