At the Monday, Sept. 16, meeting of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville, Dr. Marla B. Shapiro, of the Concussion Institute at Gwinnett Medical Center-Duluth, talked about the prevalence and treatment of concussions.  She explained how she came to her new job of about three weeks and how she found the Concussion Institute an exciting place to be.  They work mainly with student athletes and emphasize educating athletes, parents, and coaches.  She explained that concussions are a disrupted chemical process of the brain, with rest as a major treatment recommendation.  She felt concussions are a part of sports and can be handled so that there is no long-lasting damage.  “Suck it up and play” is not an appropriate attitude when it comes to concussions; rather, the more rest, the faster the recovery.  During the question/answer session certain facts came out: there does seem to be a relation to Alzheimer’s and dementia; girls’ soccer is second only to football in the occurrence of concussions; and 100% recovery involves multiple approaches.

https://vimeo.com/74670863