I’m writing (yet another) column about head injuries.
Have any of your hit head in a fall from a horse, lost time or experienced other concussion symptoms? Even so-called (and mislabeled) mild symptoms? If so, did you go to the ER and did any doctor talk to you about Second Impact Syndrome or the necessity of replacing your helmet? Did your trainer talk to you about Second Impact syndrome and the necessity to replace your helmet?
I don’t have to use names of those who respond.
Thanks!
Did not go to ER when I suffered my concussion (horse tripped at the trot, I went off forward while wearing a helmet). Husband did not take me. Trainer did not say anything about Second Impact Syndrome…I’ve never even heard of it. He did talk about replacing my helmet, and I already knew to do so.
I think most trainers are smart enough to mention the necessity of a new helmet after a fall. Second impact syndrome on the other hand is pretty rare and I bet most trainers have never even heard of it.
Although it is not riding related, the Globe and Mail had a piece on this the other day. I had no idea it could be so severe.
I was very lucky to have just a mild concussion when my horse tripped at a canter and went down and I was lawn-darted and fell right on my head. As I hit the ground, I heard my neck crack and thought to myself, oh sh**. I had a headache for a few hours and that was it, I didn’t go to the ER. I took it easy for a few days and of course replaced my helmet.
I was bucked off a horse about 10 years ago, and by head/helmet hit a thick wooden post. DH took me to the hospital where they seemed more concerned with my back (it hurt) and didn’t seem worried about concussion.
The next day at work (about 20 hours later) my coworkers couldn’t make sense of what I was saying and I then started to throw up. Oddly nobody thought that perhaps I shouldn’t drive, so I drove home and was out of it for a while. Likely should have gone to hospital but I wasn’t thinking straight.
Another time (when I was working as a groom), I was leading a horse after his class and before prize presentations. It was at Spruce Indoors and we were in the hitching area when someone opened the giant door for the trailer to replace jumps…the horse leapt on top of me and knocked me down and stepped on my gut. (I was not wearing a helmet). My employer didn’t take me to the hospital…and instead offered me a beer. I knew I had a mild concussion and had my hotel roommates keep an eye on me. (A few days later I found out I had damaged my liver…likely a good thing I turned down the beer!)
I had a mild concussion as a junior when I stupidly hopped on my horse bareback in a halter without a helmet (horse ended up crow hopping and I slipped off). I was not knocked out but I was dazzed and couldn’t remember what day it was or the time of the year (I remember asking if I was still in school or it is was summer break). Others at the barn/trainer said I would be fine and regain my short term memory quickly (which I did). I remember instantly feeling drowsy but others said to keep me awake. My mom was there and was able to take me home and keep me from falling asleep. I short few months later I had another fall (wearing a helmet) and hit my head. I remember a faint concussion again with a similar feeling, but more mild than the previous fall.
I have never gone to the ER after a fall (I one time got X-rays of my chest after a fall when a horse tripped and fell with me, but I was okay). I have replaced helmets after a few falls or every couple years (I actually just bought a new schooling helmet, as my old one was 4 years old). I know you are technically supposed to replace a helmet after each fall (but if you fall off a lot that could be expensive). Never heard of second impact syndrome.
Yes, my son plays ice hockey and after his concussion we had to get into a neurologist after the er. He had to be signed off by the neuro before he could play again, and the minimum time is 1 month no skating.
The protocals are required by the National Hockey Assoc. and I took them to the barn owner and discussed them with the trainers. Hopefully, the barn will require that those protocals be followed in the future, it is all laid out since Second Impact Syndrome is what the protocals are trying to prevent along with determining the severity of the initial concussion.
When my sister was launched while jumping a greenie at a lesson barn years ago, she blacked out for a few minutes and couldn’t recall short term events. She was taken to the ER and diagnosed with a severe concussion. She ended up back in the ER within a couple of days with a very high fever (104-105 degrees F), attributed to landing face first and probably inhaling debris.
It was mentioned that once the first concussion occurred, the likelihood of a second or third concussion rose dramatically. No specific mention of Second Impact Syndrom that I can recall, though. Her primary doctor advised no riding for at least a month or more, depending on how she was healing. I cannot remember either the ER or her primary doctor mentioning replacing her helmet.
She ended up missing school for 4-6 weeks due to symptoms from the concussion. As my father had suffered a concussion or two and read everything he could find on the subject, her helmet was replaced, and she was not allowed to ride until 6-8 months later (she wasn’t too keen on riding until that point anyways). She was sidelined to flatwork/dressage for the first few months as well, and she was more than happy to comply with that.
Edited to add that both of us have switched to solely dressage with the occasional small jumping as cross training. My sister did jump again for a while after and just found she didn’t enjoy it as much as dressage. I enjoyed dressage work as well and due to repeated knee injuries found dressage positioning much friendlier on my knees.
15 yrs ago, I was leading my horse when something spooked him and he jumped on me and knocked me out cold. Went to ER with a baseball size lump on back of my head, Xrayed and after a few hours (when i could speak coherently again) was sent home. No riding for 8 wks. Few years after that, came off my horse (different one- he stumbled landing from jump), my helmetted head just grazed the ground-another concussion. 2 years ago, riding a nasty lesson horse who reared and spun- off I came -this time my head NEVER touched the ground- guess what?? Whiplash concussion ! (along with 3 cracked ribs). I am proof that the effects are cumulative-sadly, it doesn’t take much for me anymore
Oh boy. This is my topic and so near and dear to me.
About 5-6 years ago, I had a jumper that caused me to suffer 3-4 concussions within a year’s time (plus a bonus MCL injury that has never really healed). Each one wasn’t massive (no blacking out), but I was dazed, couldn’t remember walking out of the ring, and suffered drowsiness and headaches 24-48 hours afterwards. I went to the ER for each of them (at different hospitals), they did CT scans, deemed them concussions, otherwise I was OK and they sent me on my way.
I followed up with my GP. She told me “Karasha, you can’t fall off again, you understand? You have had so many concussions within a short amount of time, you need to seriously reconsider your sport.” Did I? No. But I took a year off.
What my doctors or trainer did not mention is what happens after a concussion. I struggled and nearly failed out of university. I could not remember a damn thing. The minute something entered my brain, I forgot it. I lost a lot of who I was afterwards.
After my year off, I started riding another horse. A prospect to buy to replace my other jumper. After a 2-3 months of riding him, we had a bad accident where we were coming up to a fence, he didn’t jump until the last minute, swam through the fence, fell straight on his face, and barrel-rolled with me. My mom, absolutely PETRIFIED, took me to the ER. Another concussion.
I quit riding for 2 years.
I am 25 years old, and I can’t remember anything prior to college. If you ask me anything about high school or earlier, it’s a big black hole in my life I can’t remember anything except a small minute here and there.
I am back to riding now. I have a new horse, who I feel very safe on and I have fallen off once, but it was very low drama and “safe”. You are damn right I second look at a 3’6" fence and think “If this goes to hell in a handbasket, what is going to happen to me?” before every one.
Yes, I had a recent concussion and a long-ish, somewhat disturbing story to go with it. Too long to type out on my phone. I will try to remember to comer back and post it. If I forget, PM me to remind me!
I had a serious fall when I was 18. The horse either stepped on my head or kicked me in the head. My helmet had a hoof-shaped divot and was cracked through in three places out from it. I had short term amnesia for 24 hours and lost 6 weeks of time.
The doctors did advise me about Second Impact Syndrome. Well, not specifically on those terms, but they told me how important it was that I not have another head injury in the next year because my head was in a very vulnerable state and it would likely cause more damage than an initial injury, and that I try not to have more ever because of the long term effects building up over time. so covering pretty much the same ground.
This was in 2000 and I have had one other serious TBI since where I didn’t lose time but I did have a grand mal seizure and was knocked out for 45 minutes.
In both cases I spent a few days in the hospital, and my falls were taken extremely seriously. MRIs, constant monitoring, the lot. I feel like I received excellent medical care and was advised appropriately. Of course I went right home and rode horses, but that is just because all horse people are insane and we can’t help ourselves.
I also have chronic migraines that may or may not have been exacerbated by my high rate of serious head injury. It is very hard for neurologists to say, much about the brain is a mystery still and I have migraine in my family–mine are just much, much more constant.
But i still ride. I am much more careful about what I ride but I still ride green and hot horses, just not serious problem horses.
I also worry that I will get dementia someday from all that, it is one of the risks from repeated head injury.
The doctors didn’t advise me to replace my helmet but in both cases they didn’t have to, there wasn’t much left to put back on my head. I am vigilant about replacing my helmet every 5 years from DOM. And I have lectured my trainer to do the same. I am that annoying person who will lecture their trainer that their ancient faded helmet just makes them look unsafe, not cool. :lol: it worked, too. He has kids and wants to see them grow up. Sensible.
I’ve ad a number of concussions but so long ago I’m not sur second impact syndrome had a name. My helmets were replaced after each one and I went to the hospital once to discover I had a hairline fracture at the base of my skull. Sigh. My goal is no more concussions. I lost a couple of pretty fun days of memories
I’d be interested in hearing how you are defining SIS. Spent a lot of time researching brain injuries for “The Concussion Crisis:Anatomy of a Silent Epidemic” (www.theconcussioncrisis.com)
People reading this thread may be interested in reading/seeing League of Denial about the NFL. It is an eye-opener.
I’ve certainly had my fair share of minor concussions over my 22 year riding career but nothing serious enough to be deemed ER worthy. Helmets were always replaced after an impact.
I know more about head injuries from being the daughter of a TBI survivor. My dad fell 3 stories down an elevator shaft and spent 3 months in a coma with a severe closed brain stem injury. He’s not supposed to be alive, much less nearly fully functioning. He has balance and memory problems. He lost the 6 months before the accident and the year he spent in the hospital. His senses of taste and smell are severely diminished. He has a crater in his skull where they had to drill a hole to relieve the pressure. In spite of all of this he’s relative “normal”. Needless to say concussions were taken very seriously in my home.
Despite numerous falls, and head strikes between 12 and 16 yo, I was never told by trainers to go to the doctor, replace my helmet, or take a break from riding because of injury. My parents do have a gallery of damaged helmets from my teenage years but that was on my own initiative, they also have a collection of “I bought land” certificates from the barn.
Looking back, the migraines, balance issues on my own feet, and problems learning other languages that the doctors thought were possibly from a clot (MRIs and CAT scans showed nothing) were likely from SIS. We are fairly certain that I had at least 4 concussions in that period, all three grades, but never went to the doctor to be diagnosed.
OP Is SIS related to “contra coup”? Or is it the same thing?
Actual Second Impact Syndrome as it was originally defined has been seen mostly in kids. It’s defined as a second hit to the head before the first has healed - the effects can be debilitating and deadly. One or two kids die from this each year.
I posted on the thread in the Eventing forum already, but I wanted to add that in my experience, trainers are very ignorant about concussions. The phrase I hear most often is “she had her bell rung.”
I was hand walking my horse one day when a girl fell off in a jumping lesson. Later I saw the girl (I didn’t really know her) wandering around and asked if she was okay after falling off. “She said, I fell off?” I sort of took her under my wing and made her call her mom and tell her she was concussed. The girl was really in a fog and no one noticed.
It just really sticks in my craw that the trainer kept teaching and had no one to look out for the girl. Did she even know how to check for concussion symptoms?
I wish we had some sort of certification for riding instructors. They should know how to check for concussions, and basic CPR.
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