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Red Deer Advocate FRIDAY, OCT. 17, 2014
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This is the second in a series on the impact of concussions. Local teacher, boxing coach and freelance writer Doug Rowe, himself the victim of concussion, examines how head injuries can change your life. In this instalment, he talks to young athletes in our community who have been forced to cope with head injuries. The series will run on Fridays in the Advocate over the next few weeks.
Increasing cloudiness. High 11. Low 2.
FORECAST ON A2
Blake Stillings, Lucas Walker, Cody Miner and Alyssa Dunbar have more in common than most 16-year-old Grade 11 students. All four have had their academic, athletic, personal and physical lives devastated by post-concussion syndrome. For most adults, concussions can be very traumatic. But for teenagers, because their brains are still developing, the level of trauma can be much more complex and severe.
“The adolescent brain is much more susceptible than the adult brain,” said Red Deer College psychology instructor and concussion researcher Dr. Elena Antoniadis at a recent Red Deer College workshop on concussions. “Sometimes you may have a swelling or contusion of the brain tissue, and sometimes just the mere acceleration is sufficient enough to damage or compromise the connections between the brain cells. This is especially vulnerable in youth where the axon has myelin that protects the axon and that is still developing.” Axons are the communication cen-
tre for neurons, and when blows to the head damage the axons and the myelin sheath that protects them, this and brain contusions can lead to a large array of symptoms. These postconcussion symptoms can include headaches, migraines, pressure in the head, nausea, balance problems, dizziness, fatigue, insomnia, hypersomnia, blurry or double vision, sensitivity to light and noise, numbness or tingling, difficulty thinking and concentrating, brain fog, anger, depression, irritability, panic attacks and anxiety.
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Martin Short stars in ‘Mulaney,’ airing Sundays on Global Television.
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BY DOUG ROWE SPECIAL TO THE ADVOCATE