Understanding concussions is essential for any parent of a child or teenager that plays soccer, whether they are a serious player or just get out there for fun.
Everyone’s brain is a very soft organ that is enclosed in spinal fluid. The hard skull protects the brain and the surrounding fluid. If your child bangs his head in any way, the fluid that encases the brain acts as sort of a cushion to keep the organ from slamming into his or her skull.
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Sometimes, however, your child will hit his head or body so hard that their brain will crash into his skull, leading to the mild head injury known as a concussion.
When your youth is playing soccer, he or she will be running hard alongside many other players, while focusing intently on the ball. This is a prime situation for children to injury themselves, as they can run into one another at high speeds, trip and fall over the ball or simply their own feet, or even bang heads with another player when performing a move called a “header.”
SEE MORE: 5 Tips on How to Head a Soccer Ball
A “header” is when a soccer player hits the ball with his head instead of kicking it. This would normally not cause a concussion, but if two players attempt to head the ball at the same time, you can see how this would be dangerous.
Suspect a concussion? Even the mildest concussion symptoms are not to be ignored; concussion treatment varies from using pain relievers for headaches to simple rest. Rest consists of both physical and mental rest. A concussion is a very serious brain injury – if a soccer player jumps back in too soon before fully recovering then the next concussion with be more severe and take longer from which to recover.
