Although head injuries are common in all contact sports, the vast majority, however, are minor. Sports in which minor head injuries are seen include football, boxing, gymnastics, horse riding and martial arts. Major head injuries are a medical emergency. The sports medicine practitioner s role in the management of acute head injuries is to recognize the problem, ensure immediate resuscitation and transfer the injured athlete to the appropriate facility. The immediate management of severe head injuries is considered in Chapter 39 .
Concussion is the term commonly used to describe a type of minor head injury.
The most widely used definition of concussion involves a transient disturbance of neurological function induced by head trauma . Concussion is a subset of MBI but the con-verse is not true. Although neurological dysfunction in concussion is transient, the athlete has sustained significant impact to the brain. More severe forms of diffuse brain injury involve shearing forces to the brain, which cause pathological damage. In concussion, it remains controversial as to whether any pathological damage occurs.