The scene

Loris Sven Karius is a German professional footballer (used to be the 1st choice goalkeeper for Premier League club, Liverpool). He represented Germany at Youth level. Born in Biberach, Karius began his career with Stuttgart before moving to Manchester City in 2009. After two years in Manchester City’s youth system, he returned to Germany with Mainz 05. He established himself as first-choice goalkeeper for the Bundesliga side before transferring to Liverpool in 2016 for a fee of £4.75 million.

In essence, by all known standards he is a top- notch goal tender. James Hadley Chase’s ‘’The way the cookie crumbles’’ best described his world since the final match of the European Champions League 2018. He let in 2 seemingly ‘’cheap’’, unpardonable goals (against Real Madrid fc) that Liverpool fans would painfully not forget in a hurry. From receiving death threats by fans to being dumped by girlfriend (due to same threats), the rain of misfortune came in torrents!

5 days after the match 2 doctors made the following statement after assessing him: “After carefully reviewing game film and integrating a detailed history … physical examination and objective metrics, we have concluded that Mr Karius sustained a concussion during the match on May 26, 2018,” the statement from Zafonte and Herget said’’. Alas! Karius actually had a Concussion (which left him uncoordinated during the match).

What is Concussion?

It is a not-so-serious (mild) temporary brain injury as well as the most common. The word comes from the Latin concutere, which means “to shake violently.” The brain is made of soft tissue. It’s cushioned by spinal fluid and encased in the protective shell of the skull. When one sustains a concussion, the impact can jolt your brain. Sometimes, it literally causes it to move around in the head. Traumatic brain injuries can cause bruising, damage to the blood vessels, and injury to the nerves.

The result is that the brain doesn’t function normally. If you’ve suffered a concussion, vision may be disturbed, you may lose equilibrium, or you may fall unconscious. In short, the brain is confused. Yours sincerely had a peep into what it is back in the medical school during an inter class football competition (playing in the defence) when I had a head to head collision with a striker in the other team; lo and behold I had a temporary blackout and saw ‘’stars’’ but fortunately enough I was up on my feet a few minutes later.

Causes

1. Sports injuries; blow to the head, kick to the head, fall from a horse etc

2. Road traffic accidents

3. Fall from a height

4. Any other event that could lead to Head injury

Symptoms

Symptoms may start within seconds to minutes and lasts for hours, days or even weeks but is most often reversible;

• Severe headache

• Vomiting

• Memory problems

• Blackouts

• A seizure (fit or spasm of arms, legs or face)

• Difficulty staying awake

• Blood or clear fluid coming from the ears or nose

• Neck stiffness

• Confusion, slurred speech or unusual behaviour

• Blurred or double vision

• Dizziness

The catch

Concussion may be under-diagnosed because of the lack of the highly noticeable symptoms. Athletes are known to down play/underemphasize their symptoms in order to remain in the competition. A brain MRI may be requested by the doctor after initial physical assessment.

Types

Concussions are graded as mild (grade 1), moderate (grade 2), or severe (grade 3), depending on such factors as loss of consciousness, amnesia (memory loss that affects decision making), and loss of equilibrium.

In a grade 1 concussion, symptoms last for less than 15 minutes. There is no loss of consciousness.

With a grade 2 concussion, there is no loss of consciousness but symptoms last longer than 15 minutes.

In a grade 3 concussion, the person loses consciousness, sometimes just for a few seconds. In the case of Karius, it was either Grade 1 or 2 since there was no loss of consciousness but a timeline is needed to ascertain when the symptom actually started.

Treatment

Most people recover fully after a concussion, but it can take some time. Rest is very important after a concussion because it helps the brain to heal. In the very beginning, you may need to limit physical activities or activities that involve a lot of concentration, such as studying, working on the computer, or playing video games. Doing these may cause concussion symptoms (such as headache or tiredness) to come back or get worse. Then when your doctor says that it is ok, you can start to return to your normal activities slowly.

Outcome

People who have had a concussion seem more susceptible to another one, particularly if the new injury occurs before symptoms from the previous concussion have completely gone away. It is also a negative process if smaller impacts cause the same symptom severity. Repeated concussions may increase a person’s risk in later life for dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and depression. These are seldom permanent, and the outcome is usually excellent.

The overall prognosis for recovery may be influenced by a variety of factors that include age at the time of injury, intellectual abilities, family environment, social support system, occupational status, coping strategies, and financial circumstances. People over the age of 55 years may take longer to heal from Concussion or may heal incompletely. Similarly, factors such as a previous head injury or a coexisting medical condition have been found to predict longer-lasting post-concussion symptoms.

Take Home

Discontinue any sort of activity if the stated symptoms occur following a head injury and proceed to visit your doctor immediately.