Week 1, Day 1
Welcome to the first day of your internship with your Concussion Alliance! We are excited to work with you and to get to know you better. Thank you for joining us.
This focus of this week is primarily educational, to get everyone up to speed about the science regarding concussions, and to focus on remote teamwork. The end of this week and the start of next week will focus on writing the Concussion Update newsletter; the next edition of the newsletter comes out on June 25. After the newsletter, we will launch into projects.
Personal stories to read, listen to, and watch (45 minutes, approximately)
This is What a Concussion Sounds Like - A KUOW RadioActive Radio Feature by Concussion Alliance cofounder Conor Gormally. The radio piece is 6 minutes and gives you a feeling of what a concussion feels like. (You can see that we need to add stories to this page.)
For your perusal, we recommend you read or watch a few of these:
The CDC has a few 3-minute videos of personal stories. The paired teen athlete/parent videos are useful. Note that the third athlete, Tracy, did “cocooning” after her injury in 2005; researchers recently have determined that cocooning worsens symptoms and delays recovery.
Concussion Legacy Foundation personal stories and Concussion Legacy Foundation #concussionhope
In their “personal stories” blog posts, Concussion Legacy Foundation (CLF) focuses a lot of individuals with CTE, and people with long-term symptoms. It’s worth pointing out that CLF uses the term post-concussion syndrome, or PCS, while at CA we have adopted the newer term used by researchers and clinicians: persistent post-concussion symptoms.
The CLF #concussionhope series on Instagram has short self-recorded videos of people dealing with long-term symptoms, which are worth watching. The series seems to be sponsored by the Neurologic Wellness Institute in Chicago, a functional neurology clinic (see our page on Functional Neurology for clarification on that front). It’s debatable whether this sponsorship is a good idea.
Concussion Knowledge Training
This week we will be walking you through the basic information about concussions. Our resources include:
CDC HEADS UP website.
The Canadian website Concussion Awareness Training Tool (CATT).
5th International Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sport.
Materials from the 2019 University of Calgary MOOC on Concussion: Prevention, Detection, and Management.
Materials from leading concussion researchers and clinicians.
The Concussion Alliance website.
Assignments for Day 1
Watch: What happens to your brain (7 minutes)
Watch the 6-minute TedX video at the top of the page, which has over-simplified (but useful) graphics explaining the processes in the brain that occur after a concussion. We created this webpage about two years ago, and it needs to be redesigned and rewritten; it’s one of the potential projects for the internship. We think the TedX video has some use for you, our interns. However, we don’t like that the video lumps together concussions, repetitive impacts, and CTE. Throwing information about repetitive impacts and CTE at someone who is simply worried about their concussion is not a good idea, as it will cause unneeded additional anxiety.
The video also makes it sound like a living individual can be diagnosed with CTE, which is not true. CTE can only be diagnosed post-mortem, although some may be diagnosed with “CTE-like symptoms.” In terms of recovering from a concussion, the video recommends “lots of rest and a gradual return to activity,” and “lots of rest” doesn’t fit with the current consensus on concussion management.
Finally, once you watch Dr. Chris Giza’s presentation on the pathophysiology of concussion, you’ll see why the TedX video is over-simplified. We’d love to find a better link for our webpage.
2. Watch: Pathophysiology of a concussion (30 minutes — essential viewing)
Chris Giza, MD, gives a superb presentation at the 2019 Concussion Summit. Dr. Giza is the Director of the Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Program at UCLA. Dr. Giza also helps Concussion Alliance with referrals for patients we consult with.
In this video:
The neurometabolic cascade of concussion, a well-accepted theory that Dr. Giza developed
Male / female difference in concussions
Blood biomarkers
Rest vs. Aerobic exercise in recovery
Neurodegeneration and CTE
Evaluating research
Persistent post-concussion symptoms
3. Read this section from CATT: Overview: What is a concussion? Read all four sections: Recognize, Respond, Manage, Prevent.
4. Read our webpage Guidelines for Recovery. Be sure to read all the linked flyers on the page. For example, the section “Rest for 24-48 hours and then gradually become more active” has a carousel of flyers - read each one.
5. Read 5th Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sport.
Read this closely to prepare for a 30-minute discussion group Tuesday on this document. We’ve created a few Discussion Questions to guide your reading.