Transcript

PRESENTER

So what exactly is a concussion? For a start, you don’t have to have been knocked out to sustain one. In fact only 10% of people who are concussed lose consciousness. It’s a brain injury but there’s no blood clot or fracture. The brain’s hardware isn’t damaged but the software is so the brain stops functioning properly and, depending on the individual and the level of damage, it takes time to heal.

TONY BELLI

Typically if you have been concussed there will be a few minutes of feeling dazed and confused. Perhaps if you are playing a game you don’t know who you’re playing, what the score is. You typically have balance problems initially so bit of lack of co-ordination. These symptoms can be very transient so they may be there just for a matter of seconds or a few minutes and they can be easily missed on a pitch.

PRESENTER

Tony Belli is professor of trauma neurosurgery at the University of Birmingham and a consultant at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. He’s one of the country’s leading experts in head injury.

TONY BELLI

And then typically athletes and people in general who have been concussed start complaining of fatigue and dizziness. Headache is a very common symptom as well. They may realise that actually cognitively they’re not quite right. So they may have problems with their memory, concentration, attention and some people can feel quite nauseated as well