An American study indicates that after a head injury, even a mild one, recovery is much faster if you stay away from the light screens
If, for example while practicing some sport, a boy or a girl undergoes one cranial concussion (trauma with brain damage) even mild, for example due to a volley, it would be better if they refrained from using their cell phones for a while or PC to chat with friends. The recommendation comes from University of Massachusetts researchers headed by Theodore Macnow, which they published in the magazine JAMA Pediatrics a study according to which after a cranial concussion you must stay away from bright screens for at least 48 hours, remaining in complete psychophysical rest if you do not want to compromise your recovery. In the United States, young people spend an average of 7 hours a day in front of a screen, be it that of the Pc, of the smartphone, of the videogame or of the television and Italian children between 11 and 18 years are no less: according to recent data, 80% in fact spend at least 4. In the event of cranial concussion it should be avoided otherwise the recovery time can even double. In the US study, in fact, the boys who had abstained from the use of computers and mobile phones they recovered in three and a half days, while those who had continued to use them they took eight.
Checks in the emergency room
How did the researchers understand that abstaining from cell phones and PCs for 2 days after a head injury? They divided 125 young people aged between 12 and 25 into two groups presented from June 2018 to February 2020 at the Emergency Department of the UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worchester for a mild concussion. To those of the first group was forbidden to use any bright screen for 2 days, while the others could use them unless one or more gods emerged 22 symptoms listed on a scale to 6 points (0 = absent and 6 = serious) called PCCS. From 0 to 3 points the situation considered normal and therefore the value of 3 the threshold for full recovery: children who had not exposed themselves to the screens of smartphones, tablets and PCs they reached it 4 and a half days before the others.
The hypothesis
It is not yet clear why the time spent in front of the worst screens is the prognosis – explained Macnow -, but exposure to light photons appears to be one of the most likely causes, however, has already been implicated also in migraine attacks. The exaggerated use of smartphones by children even when they go to sleep it can also reduce the hours of sleep which are instead a cure-all for concussions. In our study we evaluated only the first 48 hours from the concussive event and it will be necessary to see what happens next, specifying even if it is worse to watch the computer or, for example, television.
A problem for adults too
In any case, the problem also affects adults. Concussions every year lead to the emergency room in Italy every year 120 thousand people of all ages although many are between 10 and 19 years old. 15% of young people have suffered at least one concussion, usually mild and not only in recreational sports, but more often on mopeds, bicycles, skis and scooters where things can get worse. After the spread of green mobility, this latter source of extortion continues to grow also in our country, with peaks in Rome, with by now 15 thousand monopattini in sharing, had a 400% increase. Scooter concussions are proving very serious because drivers can end up in resuscitation not even having the helmet protection that saves many motorcyclists.
Typical symptoms
The cranial concussion, known by the acronym TBI acronimo di Traumatic Brain Injury, as mentioned it can be mild, medium or severe depending on the extent of the brain damage. The mild ones, almost all of those examined in the American study, provide momentary confusion without loss of consciousness which can occur for a maximum of seconds or minutes. I am also often a victim footballers on the field who, in the light of this study, would be better off ditching the cell phone for two days after a football concussion. After the trauma they may remain headache, lightheadedness, dizziness, tinnitus and fatigue with sleep, memory and concentration problems. In more severe TBI the symptoms are similar, but the worst and persistent headache accompanied by nausea, vomiting, motor incoordination, speech disturbances, agitation and confusion. In those very serious road accidents you can get to a coma where on awakening in 4-5% of cases there are episodes of post-traumatic epilepsy and here the recommendation of the American study acquires even more value because it is notoriously photostimulation that triggers the attacks.
December 6, 2021 (change December 6, 2021 | 18:42)
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