Free
E-newsletter
Subscribe to Housecall
Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date
on a wide variety of health topics.
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Causes
By Mayo Clinic staffYour brain has the consistency of gelatin. It's cushioned from everyday jolts and bumps by the cerebrospinal fluid that it floats in, inside your skull. A violent blow to your head and neck or upper body can cause your brain to slide back and forth forcefully against the inner wall of your skull. Sudden acceleration or deceleration of the head — resulting from events such as a car crash or being violently shaken (shaken baby syndrome) — also can cause brain injury.
These injuries affect brain function, usually for a brief period, resulting in signs and symptoms of concussion. A brain injury of this sort may even lead to bleeding in or around your brain causing symptoms, such as prolonged drowsiness and confusion, that may develop right away or even later. Such bleeding in your brain can be fatal. That's why anyone who experiences a brain injury needs to be monitored in the hours afterward and receive emergency care if symptoms worsen.
- Head injury. American Academy of Pediatrics. http://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/injuries-emergencies/Pages/Head-Injury.aspx. Accessed Dec. 2, 2010.
- Halstead ME, et al. Clinical report — Sport-related concussion in children and adolescents. Pediatrics. 2010;126:597.
- Heads up: Concussion in youth sports. A fact sheet for parents. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/concussion/pdf/parents_Eng.pdf. Accessed Dec. 2, 2010.
- Traumatic brain injury. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/print/sec21/ch310/ch310a.html. Accessed Dec. 2, 2010.
- Evans RW. Concussion and mild traumatic brain injury. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Dec. 2, 2010.
- Lovell M. The neurophysiology and assessment of sports-related head injuries. Neurologic Clinics. 2008;26:45.
- Heegaard W, et al. Traumatic brain injury. Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America. 2007;25:655.
- Schutzman S. Minor head trauma in infants and children. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Dec. 2, 2010.
- Wetjen NM, et al. Second impact syndrome: Concussion and second injury brain complications. Journal of the American College of Surgeons. 2010;211:553.
- Lovell M. The management of sports-related concussion: Current status and future trends. Clinics in Sports Medicine. 2009;28:95.
- Position statement on sports concussion. American Academy of Neurology. http://www.aan.com/globals/axon/assets/7913.pdf. Accessed Jan. 10, 2010.
- McCrory P, et al. Consensus statement on concussion in sport: 3rd International Conference on Concussion in Sport held in Zurich, November 2008. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine. 2009;19:185.
Find Mayo Clinic on