KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A Cocke County High School football player was released from the hospital and is "doing better" after suffering a head injury and being airlifted to the hospital Friday.
The player, Tasean Simpson, wasn't the only one injured that night. Cocke County High School's quarterback also suffered a concussion, and other players suffered a separated shoulder and lower leg injury.
Before his scans and tests came back good, trainers appeared to have been concerned Simpson suffered a structural head injury, according to Dr. Josh Johnson, a sports medicine doctor at Knoxville Orthopaedic clinic and the team doctor for the Tennessee Smokies.
"If you're really concerned about the structure being injured, then you want to be in a place that can address that structural injury," said Johnson.
In those cases, Johnson said, time is important. He wants his patients to have a CT scan or MRI as quickly as possible, to diagnose possible structural damage to the brain. A structural injury usually involves bleeding somewhere in or around the brain.
Johnson suggested parents and coaches of football players should be vigilant and look for symptoms of structural damage to the head in cases of head trauma, such as:
- one pupil larger than the other
- problems with coordination and strength
- numbness and tingling in the arms or legs
- progressive confusion, disorientation
- progressive drowsiness
- nausea and repetitive vomiting
- worsening headache
While a concussion is not a structural brain injury, it is still dangerous. Johnson said football and women's soccer are the two sports with the highest number of concussions.
Concussion symptoms include:
- blurred vision
- double vision
- ringing in the ears
- dizziness
- headache
Johnson said the only way to take concussions out of sports is to "get the head out of the picture," but said that's not possible for contact sports like football.
Instead, he said the most important thing is recognizing head injuries, and treating them to prevent the negative consequences.
"In the long term, those things can certainly affect the quality of life," Johnson said.
The Knoxville Orthopaedic Clinic provides medical staff on the sidelines of most Knox County Football games.