Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark in Idaho
DeanBJJ,
I've been traveling with limited broadband so I could not reply.
The tissue/cellular damage NEVER heals because neurons do not heal or regenerate and levels needed to heal damage. A bone or skin makes scar tissue. There is not such thing as scar tissue in the brain matter.
The brain actually continues to 'suffer damage' after the original injury as the neurons and other healthy cells separate from the damaged/malfunctioning cells so those cells can be instructed to die and be absorbed. Using tRNA, transmitting RNA, they send out die signals to prevent those malfunctioning cells from disrupting the pathways of the healthy cells.
There are diagnostic systems that can compare various post-injury brain functions to baseline/pre-injury function. The injured brain will show failure when under stress even though it may operate at a higher level during non-stress activities.
If your physio had truly had 17 concussions, I can guarantee he is not functioning at pre-injury levels. His tolerance for stress is greatly reduced. How does he define/diagnose a concussion?
Most concussion diagnostics are very subjective and depend on the patient's observation skills of their symptoms. They may not even consider some symptoms as indicators. They confuse anxiety/startle from the impact with a concussion.
You have been told a lot of pure BS. That is common as everybody who goes to a concussion seminar thinks they are experts. Whether it is an IMPACT or CNS Vital Signs or Headminder or other seminar, they are industries looking for profits. Their focus is supporting engaging in at-risk sports with a primary focus of establishing Return to Play criteria. The Zurich Consensus on Concussion in Sports and other later global sports conferences have struggled to acknowledge the risks because they cause athletes to leave the sports WHERE THE SPORTS INDUSTRY MAKES A PROFIT.
Trying to diagnose a concussion by trying to analyze the forces involved is meaningless. Your motorcycle crash cannot be analyzed. Your loss of consciousness could have been a vagal response, syncope, concussion LOC, or from a myriad of causes. Corotid or vertebral blood flow could be the cause. The reduced blood flow could have caused damage. Nobody can say.
BJJ is an at risk combat sport. Make your own mind about how you want to live you life.
But, as I said elsewhere, considering BJJ is like asking, Can I have sex until I get a little bit pregnant.
I have lived with neurological/behavior/cognitive/memory struggles since 1965. I've suffered 5 events since then that each set me back further. In 2001, 1 minor event changed my life. That does not count the other 8-10 mild concussions.
My wife lives life without her right leg due to cancer. I would never minimize her struggles but I would trade my right leg for a healthy brain with no questions.
There is an old saying. A mind is a terrible thing to waste.
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Thanks Mark, I do appreciate all your help on this.
I'm really sorry to hear about your wife and also your long term struggles due to your concussions. Have you had 5 major concussions and 8 minor ones then? May I ask what long term issues you suffer if you don't mind sharing. At what point (how many concussions) before you started to notice the long term effects.
When you talk about the neurons never healing, the damage etc, what actually happens then long term? Let's say someone had one concussion their entire life. Are you saying that even one means that they are not as cognitively intelligent? Or that the brain is forever "weaker" in a sense?
I wouldn't mind reading some Thesis's or research papers about what you are describing. I would love to find out more about it.
My Physio is going off his Rugby career where he had "bell ringers," was side-lined due to knocks and has definitely had a fair few concussions.
So with a lot of the stuff I have been told being BS, can you explain exactly what parts? I really want to know and am very interested in understanding the facts (or as much about concussions factually) as I can.
Is any of the things I have been told true? Like different things mimicking concussions, or that doctors really still don't know the true long term effects of concussion, how to prevent them, or even how to 100% diagnose a concussion?
I'm really torn, because as I said in response to the previous comment, I feel like if I quit BJJ, then I also have to quit riding motorcycles, quit snowboarding, quit driving a car because I could get a whiplash or head injury etc etc. Basically, I feel like I have to quit anything that COULD cause a concussion, but then I could slip over and hit the back of my head and give myself a major concussion which my friend recently did sadly.
She has had 5 concussions in the last 18 months sadly and is not doing very well (was off work for like 6 - 12 months) and just keeps getting them accidently like slipping over and hitting head, or getting something accidently thrown at her.
I was trying to go back to BJJ to say to myself I wouldn't let this fear of head knocks control my life. I'm trying to be careful by drilling more, rolling less and rolling less intensely but yeah it is a tough time.