The “invisible injury” of Quinte brought to light

By Shelby Wye

Heads up! Quinte’s Health Centre is participating in Safe Kids week, which is focusing on teaching the community how to avoid, identify and treat concussions.

The movement was started by Parachute, which aims for “an injury free Canada”. The organization works to protect Canadian citizens across all age groups. According to their website, www.parachutecanada.org, injuries account for over 70 per cent of youth deaths.

Last year in Quinte, 2000 teens report to hospitals with sports related injuries.

The three themes of this week are: Be alert, be safe and be aware. These are three key lessons that Safe Kids week are attempting to teach to the communities, young and old.

““Parents, coaches and even the athletes themselves haven’t been taken concussions seriously enough. Even seemingly minor blows can really change how that child may be able to move, think or behave,” said Cindy Kirkpatrick of the Quinte Health Unit.

Concussions are caused when the brain is jarred within the skull. It leads to a change in brain function, and can include such symptoms as headaches, blurred vision, difficulty concentrating and emotional instability.

“What people don’t know is that there is no evidence that helmets prevent concussions. They prevent head injuries, but not the movement that will cause a concussion,” said Kirkpatrick, “The only way to prevent concussions is to prevent kids from knocking each other over or falling.”

Kirkpatrick understands this isn’t always possible, but she suggests that educators teach their athletes about practising safer opposition and defense moves, inspecting the play area for faults and also teaching youths about respecting each other’s bodies.

Concussions are called the “invisible injury”. There is no visible injury identifiable by an MRI or CAT scan, so they often go over looked when sufferers are brought to the hospital. However, this doesn’t make them any less harmful.

The injury can last for many months if not treated appropriately, which is only done by resting. Even too much school can prolong the healing of a concussion for a youth.

Resources can be found at Quinte’s Health Centre, and Parachute hosts a multitude of online pamphlets for any teacher, parent or youth that wants to learn or teach about Safe Kids’ week’s goals on concussion education.

Follow QNet News all this week for more stories on Safe Kids week.