Florida Hospital Best in Care: Women and Children - Fall 2011 - (Page 4)

Caring for Concussions e Florida Hospital Sports Concussion Program takes head injuries seriously. Dizzy and disoriented after a collision during a softball game earlier this year, Sara Vicente, then a sophomore at University High School in Orlando, knew she had a concussion. “I got up and went back in to play, but I knew I was hurt,” says Sara. “When the inning ended, my coach took me out of the game.” Melvin Field, MD, Concerned for his daughter, Sara’s Neurological dad, Jose, took her to the emergency Surgery room. Because she was able to remember her name and wasn’t vomiting, she was discharged that night. When her symptoms didn’t improve after two days, her pediatrician referred her to the Florida Hospital Sports Concussion Program. The program’s medical team works with more than 17 Central Florida Michael Dougherty, schools to provide 30-minute, preSports Concussion season baseline tests for athletes Program Manager that evaluate verbal memory, visual memory, reaction time and mental processing speed. If a head injury occurs, the test shows how an athlete’s brain functioned pre-injury and helps determine when an athlete has healed. A majority of concussions appear normal on a CT scan or MRI because these tests only look at the structure of the brain, not how it functions. “A concussion is like a power surge in a computer,” says Melvin Field, MD, neurosurgeon and co-medical director of the Florida Hospital Sports Concussion Program and director of the Florida Hospital Neuroscience Institute. “It has to shut down, reboot and, depending on the severity of the injury, could take hours, days or weeks to fully recover.” Dr. Field cautions that certain brain functions won’t work until the brain heals, which is slowed by both physical and mental strains. Sara Vicente experienced a concussion from a softball injury earlier this year. A REAL CONCERN According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the number of emergency department visits for concussions HEALTHY 00tips A ﬁt mind promotes a ﬁt body, and vice versa. Make sure you are performing daily activities that nurture both. EXERCISE YOUR BODY AND YOUR BRAIN 4 For questions or to RSVP to events, call (407) 303-BEST (2378).

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Florida Hospital Best in Care: Women and Children - Fall 2011

Florida Hospital Best in Care: Women and Children - Fall 2011
Playing It Safe
6 tips to reduce your breast cancer risk
Bariatric surgery may resolve diabetes
Minimally invasive treatment for endometriosis and infertility
Events Calendar

Florida Hospital Best in Care: Women and Children - Fall 2011