KASANDRA T
If you think there is the possibility you may have a concussion stop playing your sport and seek medical attention immediately, continuing to play and waiting to seek help can prolong your recovery process and/or damage you brain more CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT ROWAN'S STORY
ConcussionRecipe
FOR STUDENT ATHLETES
Prep: The First Steps
Step 1: TWO DAY LOCK DOWN, within 48 hours of receiving your concussion stay home, no use of phones or other electronics, minimize light and sound. DO NOT do anything that involves exertion of the brain. In this phase, you are experiencing the worst physical pain/ head trauma therefore staying home is the best environment
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Step 2: RELAX, it seems so simple yet it is the hardest thing to do when you feel you are going to fall behind in school work and your sport, but remember your HEALTH is more important. Teachers and Coaches will make accommodations for you, they understand, JUST RELAX
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Step 3: STAY HOME , lay in your bed, sleep in, lounge around in your pajamas, get used to being home because for the first 2 days or so, you should not be going out unless its for a 10 minutes walk to get fresh air. Concussion advice is always changing, based upon new research and in a brand new study, they report that prolonged rest is a bad idea and mild gentle activity is now a better idea to reduce persisting symptoms after a concussion.
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Step 4: STAY OFF ELECTRONICS, Telling an adolescent to stay off electronics is quite impossible but set restrictions as using electronics causes more strain to your brain. If you cannot live without your phone, go on your phone for 20 min to check your Twitter and Instagram but then refrain yourself from going on until 2 hours has passed and then gradually start exposing yourself to more screen time each day as long as you feel no pain. Remember your social media will always be there, even after your concussion free so take a break.
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Step 5: NUTRITION, having a proper nutrition is a key essential in the recovery process, your brain needs to constantly be given energy therefore eating all 3 meals a day with a healthy snack in between each meal. Remember your meals should have a combination of protein (stay away from red meat), healthy fats and oils, and carbohydrates, eat your "Brain Food" such as eggs, fish, avocado, blueberries, bananas, almonds and other fruits and vegetables. If needed or advised by the doctor, take one-two teaspoons of fish oil daily as it is a great help in the recovery process.
Bake: The Recovery
Step 1: EXPOSURE, At this point in your concussion the symptoms have decreased in severity, meaning you feel a bit better and you may be able to go short periods of time without feeling any pain or symptoms. You may still experience symptoms while doing certain activities and/or staying out for a long period of time which may cause your symptoms from "The first steps" to come back, so take your time when exposing yourself back to everyday activity.
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Step 2: BALANCE, To not overexert yourself it is important for you to balance rest and introduce yourself back into half-days of school with still no physical activity.
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Step 3: COMMUNICATION, is key when dealing with a concussion because you need to be able to communicate with your teachers. A concussion has a huge affect on your brain so don't feel scared to tell your teacher you need to take breaks, not participate in difficult tasks; such as quizzes and test and that you will be taking a "sit and listen" approach in the classroom
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Step 4: LIMIT TECHNOLOGY, you may need to continue to limit your use of technology and set restrictions as stated in "The First Steps" section
Cool off: Back to the Basics- Return to Learn
Step 1: SCHOOL, You may begin to return to a full day of school if you can avoid activities or effort, which makes your symptoms worse.
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Step 2: ATMOSPHERE, you should continue to work in environments that are most comfortable for you with little distractions and stimulation
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Step 3: SCREEN TIME, this is the stage where you should begin to expose your self to technology, determine how long you are able to use such technology with out feeling any symptoms and make personal decisions about your limitations.
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Step 4: ASSESSMENTS, At this point, it is time to get back into the rhythm of your everyday routine including school work. Communicate with your teachers that you are able to begin doing school work but you will need accommodations, assistance and extensions on all assignments and evaluations because you still need to keep your stress levels at a minimum.
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Step 5: PRACTICE, You can finally begin to gradually go into your sport by participating in warm up activities. Once you feel no symptoms doing your warm up and runs, you will me able to participate in practice drills but only at 40% of effort level with NO CONTACT to ensure you do not risk overdoing yourself and the symptoms don't come back.
Eat:Return to Play
Step 1: SYMPTOM FREE, before you return to play you must have fully completed your Return to Learn and you need to be symptom free and have gotten a clear from your doctor to participate in such activities.
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Step 2:DAILY ROUTINE, at this point you can finally begin going back to your normal routine, which means regular levels of sound, light and other distractions will not bother you and you are able to return to all classrooms with out any accommodations.
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Step 3: STRESS, as you get back into your daily routine you may feel the pressure to catch up on all homework and assignments but DON'T stress yourself out because stress is the silent killer and teachers are mindful of your recovery process that they may continue to provide you with support and accommodations
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Step 4: PHONE, You survived! You can finally go back to regular use of your technology but setting restrictions on time use of technology is still a good idea to continue as it helps you not get distracted and rest you brain.
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Step 5: THE GRAND RETURN, With your doctor's and your parent's consent you can now return to playing the sport you love. There is a six-step Return to Play process and if you get symptoms with any of the steps you need to return to the previous step where you were symptom free. Remember, even though you are healed , your brain still has undergone a traumatic injury so ease yourself back into playing a game and always play with precaution.
