Myth: Someone suffering a concussion should be awakened repeatedly.
Fact: Sleeping is the best thing for the injured person, so do not disturb. Getting physical and mental rest aids recovery.
Myth: Contact sports are the only ones that put athletes at risk of concussion.
Fact: Concussions can occur in any sport or recreational activity. If there is a violent movement or blow to the head or body that causes the brain to move rapidly inside the skull, it can cause a concussion, according to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
Myth: A normal CT scan can rule out a concussion.
Fact: A CT scan detects structural injury and won't pick up a concussion, according to Ithaca College Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences.
Myth: You must lose consciousness or black out to have a concussion.
Fact: Only a small number of concussions involve loss of consciousness.
Myth: The harder someone is hit, the worse the concussion.
Fact: It doesn't always take a big hit to produce a concussion. Any contact to the head or body that causes rapid head movement can cause a concussion. For football players multiple lower impact hits in one game, or over time, might have more serious effects than a single high-impact collision, say experts reporting in Science News.
Myth: The effects of a concussion are short-lived.
Fact: Concussions can cause cumulative damage to neurons and structural damage to the brain, both of which can cause long-term effects.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.
