Expert Outlines Dangers, and Changing Approach to Concussions

BLUE HILL—Concussions, their causes, diagnoses, treatment and lasting effects, are a hot talking point around sports. Yet a recent talk by a concussion expert, hosted by Blue Hill Memorial Hospital, brought as many questions regarding car and other accidents.

- Anne Berleant

When talking about concussions, first give up old preconceptions of what a concussion is, according to Dr. Bruce Hamilton-Dick, who specializes in orthopedic sports medicine, orthopedic surgery and sports medicine at Frenchman Bay Orthopedics, which partners with BHHM and Maine Coast Memorial Hospital.

“You don’t need a blow to the head to have a concussion,” he said. “A concussion is your brain accelerating and hitting the side of your skull.”

A direct hit to the face, neck or anywhere on the body, including the head, that causes the head to snap forward can cause a concussion.

But the bigger danger lies in what happens immediately after the concussion, Hamilton-Dick said. A blow to the head after a concussion of any severity, known as a “post-concussive blow,” has a 50- to 60-percent mortality rate, because the brain is in an impaired metabolic state.