Concussion patients are more likely to re-visit ERs

From hockey to horseback riding, a helmet could go a long way towards curbing the number of head injuries in Edmonton.

That’s according to research conducted at the University of Alberta.

It shows city folks who’ve suffered concussions from sports or recreational activities are likely to make return visits to the emergency room.

Dr. Donald Voaklander — a university professor and Director of the Alberta Centre for Injury Control and Research who funded the study — spent the better part of two years researching head injuries in Edmonton.

“Over an 11 year period, we had about 9,500 head injuries from sport and recreation activities,” Voaklander said.

The research shows that activities like hockey, rugby, driving ATVs and horseback riding are the top concussion causing activities in the city.

The study also showed that men under the age of 18 sustain a majority of the head trauma treated in Edmonton’s emergency rooms.

Voaklander worked with graduate student Andrew Harris to pore over several million emergency room records provided by Alberta Health Services for hospitals in the Edmonton region dating back to 1997.

“This study is unique because the data is gathered from the immediate community,” Harris said, noting that typically, this type of research focuses on professional sports and recreation concussions.

“These data are indicative of what is happening to the average Edmontonian,” Harris said.

The pair found that an Edmontonian who sustains a head injury is three times more likely to report back to the emergency department with another head injury. Those individuals are then six times more likely to return for a third visit.

“It confirmed our hypothesis that people with head injuries get more head injuries,” said Voaklander, noting that sometimes concussion symptoms don’t surface until hours after the time of the injury.

After sustaining a bump to the head, some people think that if they aren’t dizzy or don’t black out, they can get right back to it, Voaklander said, but that’s not the case.

“Even innocuous hits to the head still result in mild concussions,” said Voaklander, “While it might not prevent you from skating or whatever, it’s still a significant injury that needs to be managed like any other sprain, strain or broken bone.”

Edmontonians need to be more aware of the proper protective equipment when playing sports, said Voaklander, and refrain from behaving in ways that could make recreational activities more dangerous.

“You have to take head injuries seriously and if you’re doing high-risk activities, wear the gear, wear your protective equipment,” he said.

The research was recently published in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine.

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