Concussions, second impact syndrome, etc.

Hi, Hank!

Good post Hank.

thank you

I know all to well about childhood concussions I was hit in the head by accident by a ball bat when I was 10 in 1971 it was pretty severe.

Around 1 month later I started to have severe headaches 3 to 4 day's a week for about a year some would make me vomit they were so bad.I went through a battery of tests and that time nobody really understood what they were dealing with.Eventually the headaches tapered off and went away and everybody thought I was ok until I had a Epileptic seizure at a Denny's one night.

What happened is the concussion was so severe that it caused some brain damage and my epilepsy.I was heavily medicated for about 2 years and it was a living hell for me during that time but I was lucky I grew out of it and was off the meds by High school and never had any other problems from this.

So do you think we should take concussions seriously? I think so.

It will be interesting to see what the effects of modern day pro racing has on these guys when they hit 45 or so. We know about football, hopefully these kids won't suffer as many of the football players have. Mind you, the majority are lineman, regardless concussions have a cumulative effect. I think Hepler is wise beyond his years.
Great post!

ps,
this has the potential to create a real shit storm in our sport. You can't simply sit out a few plays, or laps in this case to be properly evaluated and get back in the game if you are OK and still win like team sports.

Great post Hank! Please spread this info out to every board you can. There is currently a lot of attention being focused on concussions in sports but it's an uphill battle to overcome all the old myths and fallacies. Some people need to have it (literally) beat into their thick skulls!

Can I copy/share your post? I'd like to post it on the RiderDown.org website as well. As an organization that has stepped forward to help numerous riders who have suffered from a TBI we have seen the devastation that this injury can wreak on the rider and their family. Spread the word and be adamant about it!

I have had 4-5 pretty severe concussions, a couple to the point where I was out cold. All of them required that I go to the hospital because I was so sick and disoriented, I figured I better at least get checked out. Now, every time I ride.....when I'm done riding for the day I get the worst headaches imaginable. Sometimes they are so bad I throw up or I'll get so dizzy when I stand up I almost fall over. My doctor as been trying to figure what the cause could be from, at first we thought it might be nutrition or something along those lines, but I've tried and changed everything. Now they are thinking its just the affects of all the concussions. They really should be taken seriously.

Excellent thread.

Thanks

Wow. You can really appreciate the message of concussion awareness in that 3rd video. Thanks for posting.

I wonder if my migraines that I get are associated with the horrendous crashes when I was racing. Many crashes I don't remember. I just remember picking myself up and nothing about the crash. My very first race I had my head run over. Tire marks on the helmet. I thought I got right up and took off but my parents said I just sat there for a minute. My headaches at times get so severe I am screaming into my pillow wishing to die but at that point I know the headache has peaked and will ease shortly. Are my migraines caused by so many crashes when I was younger? I wonder.

I've had 10 concussions. 1 of them was combined with a puncture wound through my skull. After that particular injury, I had migraine headaches for 4 years, that caused me to vomit. Good topic for all of us motoheads!

Here is a list of possible symptoms from a Traumatic Brain Injury. Serious stuff...

Brain injuries can range in scope from mild to severe. Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) result in permanent neurobiological damage that can produce lifelong deficits to varying degrees. Moderate to severe brain injuries typically refer to injuries that have the following characteristics:

Moderate brain injury is defined as a brain injury resulting in a loss of consciousness from 20 minutes to 6 hours and a Glasgow Coma Scale of 9 to 12
Severe brain injury is defined as a brain injury resulting in a loss of consciousness of greater than 6 hours and a Glasgow Coma Scale of 3 to 8
The impact of a moderate to severe brain injury depends on the following:

Severity of initial injury
Rate/completeness of physiological recovery
Functions affected
Meaning of dysfunction to the individual
Resources available to aid recovery
Areas of function not affected by TBI
The impact of a moderate to severe brain injury can include:

Cognitive deficits including difficulties with:

Attention
Concentration
Distractibility
Memory
Speed of Processing
Confusion
Perseveration
Impulsiveness
Language Processing
"Executive functions"
Speech and Language

not understanding the spoken word (receptive aphasia)
difficulty speaking and being understood (expressive aphasia)
slurred speech
speaking very fast or very slow
problems reading
problems writing
Sensory

difficulties with interpretation of touch, temperature, movement, limb position and fine discrimination
Perceptual

the integration or patterning of sensory impressions into psychologically meaningful data
Vision

partial or total loss of vision
weakness of eye muscles and double vision (diplopia)
blurred vision
problems judging distance
involuntary eye movements (nystagmus)
intolerance of light (photophobia)
Hearing

decrease or loss of hearing
ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
increased sensitivity to sounds
Smell

loss or diminished sense of smell (anosmia)
Taste

loss or diminished sense of taste
Seizures

the convulsions associated with epilepsy that can be several types and can involve disruption in consciousness, sensory perception, or motor movements
Physical Changes

Physical paralysis/spasticity
Chronic pain
Control of bowel and bladder
Sleep disorders
Loss of stamina
Appetite changes
Regulation of body temperature
Menstrual difficulties
Social-Emotional

Dependent behaviors
Emotional ability
Lack of motivation
Irritability
Aggression
Depression
Disinhibition
Denial/lack of awareness

Isn't this what caused Hepler to retire?

Can you be checked for concussion damage later in life?

I am 47 now and have been knocked out more times than I care to remember (lol) in motocross (started at 8). Most of my heavy hits were in my late teens. I sometimes worry that my forgetfulness is not so much from aging, but maybe from accumulated damage. No headaches or pain though, thankfully.

Thanks for the post...in the last 25 years I've been knocked unconscious 8 times and I've noticed that it's become easier to be knocked out with each concussion. I had some neuropsych testing done to come up with a baseline as to where I'm at now with memory and such, but other than that the only thing I can do is always wear a good helmet as I can't imagine giving it up.

wow.. great post. Thanks for putting that together.
that helmet to helmet hit was vicious. alot of that talk in the NFL this year. leading with the helmet.
who was that hollywood actress that died from a skiing accident? I think it was a result of a concussion.

Yep, there is testing to determine if you've been affected by the concussions. The testing I did went on for about 7 hours at university and was a fairly interesting experience...it will give a baseline in different categories and also indicate which areas may have been affected by your concussions. It's very expensive, so you should probably make sure your insurance will cover it.

That would be Natasha Richardson who was Liam Neelson's wife.

Thanks, I need to look into it. I dont want to be some slobbering mess in my old age. Or at least be able to plan for it.

Thanks for the reminder, Mooch. I forgot about going to get a head trauma evaluation at JFK hospital. My Doctor told me to do so a few months back.

I ran across this article posted on Facebook and had to check it out due to a recent concussion I had on October 29, 2010. This information is good to post because it's definately not a joke and riders should be informed as much as possible. I crashed head first off my bike (I was wearing a new helmet) while out riding at the desert. I became unconscious for a few moments and was found by my brother, who was riding behind me and saw it happen, with my eyes in the back of my head and foaming at the mouth. Other spectators came running over to see if I was okay, and at that time I began to sit up and converse, but not making any sense. An ambulance was called, however, my family & close friends thought a helipcopter may be the best idea, even though I seemed to be functioning again. A CHP helicopter arrived within 2 minutes of the call (they were trailing the area because it was a race weekend), as soon as the heli landed, my body went into shock. I was quickly airlifted to Palm Springs Regional Hospital, and while in flight, my organs began to quickly shut down and I was placed on Life Support. They were doing everything they could to decrease the swelling of my brain. I woke up in ICU in restraints and still attached to life support. I was sent into an induced coma a few more times after I woke the first time, to numb me enough to quit fighting in removing the tubes from my mouth. Trust me, you'd freak out too waking up in a hospital, drugged up, vocals not working and arms strapped down. Finally, resisted the urge to fight the last time after the doctor whispered in my ear that my vocals will be destroyed if I continued to fight. So I calmed, and remained in ICU 7 days. I am happy to say that I am doing just fine now, and have been fortunate to not have to experience any extreme aftermath symptons and seizures. I have short term memory but this is supposed to get better. Also, this was my 4th concussion in my life, and the previous concussion before this accident was over 3 years ago. I only share this because , I've been told there's a "healing" time after a "minor" concussion before you jump back into the sport, but when exactly is that?????? I have finally sold my bike, and decided to consider myself lucky. My doctor insists I am also extremely lucky to be back to normal so quickly, when I was so close to being pronounced dead. I miss riding with my friends and family every day and still choke up when everyone suits up to go out and ride. One of the things the doctor in ICU stressed to me too was the timeframe from the accident, to receiving help was CRUCIAL. If the helicopter had not arrived so soon, my brain would have only been more swollen and a good chance I could have ended up like the gentleman in the video above. I encourage you to handle concussions seriously, even when they seem so minor. Sorry for the novel, but if it helps anyone to understand more about the severity, then it's worth it.

Excellent post Hank and thanks for those sharing there experience with concussions. Scary stuff.

I am not for the whole let the rider do what he thinks thing, but I don't know or have a good suggestion as to how to police it without affecting a multi-million dollar championship each time someone needs to make a call...

I do know if it was Broc Hepler or TP the last few years people would have been benching James, but he just tells em no... Fair call, his choice, but his decision making abilities have seemed suspect when he is fine, what happens when he has a knock after a crash and then racing through the pack has another with someone else...

There are plenty of us around from the 80's SX battles that are reaching that age. I have a few friends from that era that have suffered symptoms surprisingly (or not) similar to the football study injuries. Depression, memory loss and uncontrolled rage seem prevalent. Luckily there is treatment for some of that now. I always wonder how much the drug addiction that frequently follows the end of a moto career comes from self medication of these injuries.

I got knocked out at Oak Hill several years ago in a race during the first couple of laps in a 15 minute moto. My friends told me that I laid in the middle of the track till the medics got to me and rolled me over. Then they told me that I jumped up yelling "where's my bike, start my bike" at the top of my lungs. One of my friends started my bike and I took off like I was going to win the race. My mom told me that I actually pulled over by the fence where she always watched and told her I was OK, then I took off again! I finished that moto, went to my truck and put my bike on the stand, took off my gear and sat in my truck. Then I regained consciousness! It was like all of a sudden I was coming out of a dark tunnel, light came in and I regained coherent vision and awareness and I was like WTF? My bike was mangled and I started asking my riding partner what happened, over and over again. I went and asked my mom what happened, over and over again. I could never remember what happened! Nothing! I remember starting the race and that was it. I could never recall my crash, talking to my mom, or finishing the race!

I'm sure I had a severe concussion but we just didn't think of things back then like we do now. I was even ignorant enough to race my second moto that day! I should have been in the hospital for evaluation if anything.

I've been knocked out twice since then. The second time I kind of remembered what happened but it was all like an echo in my head. I kept asking the same questions over and over all day.

The third time I got knocked out I remember the bike swapping and then a big thump on the back of my head. It was a practice day and my friends said when I finally got up I rode out in the middle of the track and sat under a tree for a while. I didn't remember any of it from the thump I felt when I hit the ground till I noticed the mini's were out on the track for their session and I rode back to the truck.

I probably should have gone to the hospital for the first time and last time, and probably should have at least seen a doctor for the second time but I didn't. I sometimes wonder if it will effect me as I continue to age but luckily I don't think I'm experiencing anything as of yet. Crazy thing the brain...

I still deal with symptoms to this day. If anyone wants to talk more about this topic with me, feel free to shoot me a PM/email message.

I think a lot of us have this ego thing, that refrains us to say that we have a brain that is slightly damaged. We are "special" people to begin with to do the things we do on a dirtbike as it is.