President Obama and Tim Tebow

The Heisman Trophy and Noble Prize.

Connected ... how?

The Norwegian Prize committee in Oslso, Norway, announced on October 9th, 2009 that the Noble Prize for Peace (Noble Peach Prize) has been awarded to President barack Obama.

This announcement comes and a surprise to many, including the Norwegian speaking staff. President Obama was awarded the Prize, normally reserved for those who have demonstrated an accomplishment central to the World's quest for peace, to Obama for his message of Hope.

This historic announcement follows a long line of history-making by the 44th President of the United States.

There was no surprise when Tim Tebow, (arguably) Florida's (most famed) quarterback won the 2007 Heisman trophy (sometimes misspelled, Heismann), but his recent September 26th concussion against Kentucky raises questions about his readiness (and medical learance) to play Number4, LSU.

It has been reported that this was his first concussion, but this is hard to believe as he has been active for so long and 85% of concussions go undiagnosed.

The real question is what grade concussion he had: he passed out and lost consciousness for brief seconds, making this a Grade 3 concussion (seconds), but he was seen to be vomiting while taken off the field, raising the unlikely possibility that this should be considered a more severe concussion. Other early concussion symptoms include, headache and dizziness (vertigo).

If this is considered a brief (seconds) Grade 3 concussion, then the guidelines recommend him not returning to ply until he has been asymptomatic (during rest and activity) for one week; if it is considered a more severe Grade 3 concussion (minutes), then that time period is extended to 2 weeks.

Having one concussion seems to put a person at greater risk for having another, probably because the brain becomes more hypersensitive to external damage. Repeated concussions over a lifetime portends possible puglistic dementia (dementia pugilistica) and Mohammad Ali's parkinsonism, prompting NFL players to sign-up for a registry to eventually donate their brains to scientific study at boston University (BU).

So, how would I treat the headache associated with concussions?

I wouldn't want to worsen cognitive disturbances by initiating headache preventive medications (especially for young people), therefore. I usually perform great occipital nerve blocks and trigger point injection to break the headache cycle ... with great success.

For more on headaches and their treatment, contact us at neurologique@gmail.com or (904)834-3007.

- Dr. Daniel Kantor, MD BSE
Medical Director
Neurologique

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