09-15-08
Jerry Carey
973 972-5000
careyge@umdnj.edu
Neurologist Warns Against Head Injuries in Young Athletes
STRATFORD—Back to school means back to sports for many student athletes and, with it, the increased risk of an injury that could continue to cause health complications when today's schoolchildren are well into their adult years.
“Each year, about 300,000 children in the U.S. sustain head injuries,” said Dr. Mark Friedman, a neurologist with the New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging at the UMNDJ-School of Osteopathic Medicine. “Most are the result of motor vehicle accidents, but tens of thousands of children suffer concussions from sports activities such as football, soccer, lacrosse, gymnastics and cheerleading. The long-term neurological effects of these head injuries vary widely and can be serious.”
According to Friedman, these long-term effects can include chronic headaches, speech difficulties, memory and concentration problems, depression, sleep disturbances, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Mood disturbances and seizures can occur shortly after the head injury but also may show up decades later, he said.
“We only get one brain in this life and, unfortunately, our brains don’t heal easily from injury,” said Friedman. “Children who have suffered concussions should not return to contact sports until they are free of symptoms—both at rest and during exertion—for at least one week. A second injury soon after the first can have serious consequences.”
Friedman also warned that parents should seek medical attention for any child who has symptoms—such as headaches, nausea, dizziness, confusion or memory problems – for more than a week following a head injury.
To request an interview with Dr. Friedman, please contact Jerry Carey, UMDNJ News Service, at (856) 566-6171 or (973) 972-5000.
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) is the nation's largest free-standing public health sciences university with more than 5,500 students attending the state's three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and its only school of public health, on five campuses. Last year, there were more than two million patient visits to UMDNJ facilities and faculty at campuses in Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway, Scotch Plains, Camden and Stratford. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, a mental health and addiction services network.
