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00:00I'm here at the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases to investigate what is concussion,
00:06what harm it does to your body right now, and what are the increased risks of brain
00:12damage later in life, such as early dementia.
00:16The treatment for concussion is essentially bed rest and observation.
00:21There's no actual interventions you can do.
00:24However, there are some complications, such as nausea, headache, feeling dizzy, which
00:30might require some medication.
00:32In the past, people never used to take concussion that seriously, and they would be back playing
00:37football or rugby within a week, but now it's recommended you do take a break from it because
00:43repeated concussion or minor head injury can lead to earlier onset dementia, which we're
00:49seeing now in some professional sportsmen.
00:53Measures adopted by sporting associations are certainly making sport safer, and it must
01:00be remembered that the benefits of exercise during sport far outweigh most of the risks.
01:07So sport has risks, obviously.
01:09You can hurt yourself.
01:10You can hurt yourself badly, but the benefits are just absolutely massive.
01:16It means that you can do exercise, it means that you keep your weight down, it keeps your
01:21mind active, it gets you out into the open air, whatever the weather.
01:26I think, you know, to give up sport because you're worried about the risks is a disaster.
01:32Sport is really the best thing you can do to stay healthy.
01:35At whatever age, I'm old, there are young people that do sport, old people can do it.
01:41Why not?
01:42And I think it's part of longevity.
01:44Everyone wants to live long and healthily.
01:47That's what we can do by exercise, and sport's probably the best way to regularly do exercise.
01:53Fortunately, the symptoms of concussion usually wear off within a few days, but there are
01:58some situations where a head injury can lead to more serious consequences, such as an intracranial
02:03bleed or a subdural hematoma.
02:07Intracranial bleeds can actually lead to permanent brain damage, if not treated correctly.
02:13So if anyone's had a history of concussion and they start getting more severe headaches,
02:18particularly if you start lying flat and associated with nausea, or if they get problems with
02:23more dizziness or mobility, they must really present to casualty as soon as possible, because
02:30there are treatments available which are usually successful.
02:33We know that repeated head injuries can lead to an increased risk of dementia and other
02:39neurodegenerative conditions, such as Parkinson's disease.
02:44If you, a friend or a family member, have had a head injury during sport, it's best
02:48to come off the pitch straight away and try to rest, at least for the first 24 hours.
02:53If then after that, headaches persist, particularly if they get worse when you're lying flat or
02:59associated with dizziness or confusion, it'd be really important to present to your doctor
03:07or the casualty, because this could, in a worst-case scenario, be signs of an intracranial bleed.