Thanks to recent media attention, parents of kids who play sports are becoming more concerned about the risk of encephalopathy (brain disorder) associated with multiple head injuries. When does a child’s sports injury warrant medical attention? And do you need to worry about encephalopathy if your child has sustained a head injury?
According to Davis Cloward, MD of Doctors Express in High Point, North Carolina, it’s not always easy for parents to know when a child needs to go to the doctor. “I’ve thought about this myself many times,” he says, “because I’ve been a parent on the sidelines myself, and I’ve seen so many kids brought to me at the clinic after being injured during a game.”
There have been many times, he says, that children have been brought to the clinic unnecessarily. “But how could I advise a parent not to bring a child who’s hurt to see the doctor?” Ultimately, Dr. Cloward says, any time parents are truly concerned about an injury, they should seek medical advice, as it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
What Is Encephalopathy?
A common concern of parents, thanks to recent news coverage, is encephalopathy. This term does not refer to a specific disease, but rather a general brain disorder which can be brought on by a number of conditions. In some cases, encephalopathy can be caused by multiple sports-related head injuries.
Encephalopathy has gotten so much attention, Dr. Cloward says, because there have been cases of football players acting in bizarre ways or even committing suicide. While encephalopathy may or may not be to blame in these cases, the medical community has known for some time about the dangers of repeated head trauma.
The Results of Repeated Head Trauma
“It has been shown, particularly in Europe,” Dr. Cloward says, “that soccer players have a continuing decline in their intelligence (as measured through standard tests) the longer they continue to play, particularly if they’ve been playing since childhood or adolescence.” This is due to repeated minor head injuries sustained when heading the soccer ball. “It’s just enough to ‘jostle’ the brain,” he explains.
What You Need to Know
Now that more is understood about the effects of repeated head injury on the brain, parents are a bit more in tune with the fact that, for example, if their son was knocked unconscious during football practice, he probably shouldn’t play in the upcoming game. But, Dr. Cloward says, if he’s been knocked unconscious once, there is a good chance that he’s received other head traumas along the way, and parents may want to reconsider whether the child should be participating in sports at all.
These problems, Dr. Cloward says, are not limited to American football players. Repeated head injuries are also seen in martial arts participants, soccer players, and other sports that people may not consider overly physical. “This is something parents really need to be aware of,” he says, “so they can make wise decisions about their children’s participation in sports.”
