CONCUSSION BREAKTHROUGH

Athletes in contact sports have an increased risk of sustaining a head injury. If the impact is severe enough, the athlete can suffer a concussion and research shows that even minor head injuries can have serious consequences. In many cases, symptoms after a concussion are temporary, but an increasing number of athletes experience long-term problems that make it difficult to work, go to school or play sports. The symptoms are aggravated by activity and include headaches, depression, anxiety, nausea, difficulty focusing and problems with balance.

“It has been unclear what causes the symptoms. We wanted to investigate this further to find out what really causes the symptoms,” says Niklas Marklund, professor of neurosurgery at Lund University, Sweden. The researchers found that when you suffer from a concussion, it is often because the head rotates too fast and this could lead to a stretch of the vestibular nerve, which then leads to impaired function.

“The test results show that the injury is located to the vestibular nerve, which is connected to the semicircular canals in a cavity inside the skull, and which is directly adjacent to the cochlea in the ear. These injuries lead to the inward nerve impulses not working properly, and the brain therefore does not receive important information about body movements and sensory impressions required to maintain a good balance,” says researcher Anna Gard, doctoral student at Lund University, resident in neurosurgery at Skåne University Hospital and first author of the study. “Now that we have more knowledge about where the problems are located, it is easier to find possible therapies that could help these athletes,” says Professor Marklund.