The Best Offense Is a Good Defense
Preventing head injuries during fall sports
By Dr. Christopher Demers, MD
Featured in The Good Life – October 2013
Now that the smoke has cleared and fall sports are officially underway, crowds are filling into area sports venues to watch kids, teens and young adults take to the field in search of gridiron glory. In addition, indoor sports such as basketball, volleyball and hockey are also underway, pitting young athletes against each other on the way to state finals. But with all of this athletic action, comes the risk for injury – head injury to be specific – something that a little bed rest can’t always take care of. Whether it’s a mild concussion or something as severe as extended coma, once an athlete has sustained a head injury, he or she becomes more likely to sustain future head injuries, something I’m sure we would all like to protect our children from.
According to ChildrensHospital.org, “the leading cause of death from a sports-related injury is a brain injury. Approximately 2 out of 5 traumatic brain injuries among children are associated with participation in sports and recreational activities.”
Click here to read the full article.
About the author: Dr. Demers holds a medical degree from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago and completed his residency at Brown University Alpert Medical School in Rhode Island. His specialties include fusions, laminectomies and vertebroplasty, as well as discetomy. In addition to expertise in the use of stereortactic radiosurgery to treat brain tumors, Dr. Demers is skilled in the treatment of various brain conditions including chiari malformation, glioma surgery, hematoma, and trigeminal neuralgia.