Sarah Jeffries shares what happens to your brain when you get knocked out cold and lose consciousness. If you are doing boxing and MMA, you should be aware that you could suffer concussions or permanent brain damage if you continuously get punched in the face or head.
Lights out - A popular term used to describe someone who's been knocked out from a punch or kick to the head
0:00 How Being Knocked out Affects Brain 0:52 Lights out in boxing 1:08 Loss of Consciousness due to Head Trauma 1:30 Layers of the head 2:01 What happens to the brain 3:03 What causes the loss of Consciousness 4:22 Loss of Memory 4:39 What to do if you've been knocked out
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What happens to the brain when you get knocked out in boxing or MMA?
A recent study from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons found that the force
of a professional boxer's fist is the equivalent to being hit with a 13 pound bowling ball
traveling at 20 miles an hour or about 52 times the force of gravity.
How ridiculous is that?
Have you ever been hurt from a punch or ever been knocked out?
Or are you interested to know what happens to the brain when you get knocked out?
If the answer is yes, then this video is definitely for you.
In this video, I'm going to go over what happens to your brain when you've experienced a knockout.
Also, I'll give you the information you need if this does ever happen to you,
so you'll know what to do.
My name is Sarah Jeffries.
I'm a registered nurse with experience in ER nursing and education.
I've seen a lot of knockouts in my time in the ER,
and I've been around the boxing world since 2005,
so I have a lot of experience in this field.
If you've suffered a hard blow to the head from contact sports,
you may have experienced lights out.
This is a popular term used to describe someone who's been knocked out
from a punch or kick to the head.
So, what happens when you experience this?
The technical name for this in the medical field,
and what I would write in my triage note if you were my patient in the ER,
would be a blunt force trauma to the head and a loss of consciousness.
This means an object traveling at high speed that only stopped when it reached another object.
In this case, a punch to the head and then a loss of consciousness as a result of this.
Before we go any further, it's important to understand what's in your head.
It's not just a skull and brain that you may think.
We have lots of layers that make up the head.
So, the basic layers starting from the outside are the scalp,
and then underneath we have the cranium.
That's the skull, the bone.
And then we have the meninges.
These are like protective fibrous tissues around the brain.
Then underneath the meninges, we have the cerebral cortex.
That's a fancy word for the brain.
And then not forgetting, we have fluid called cerebral spinal fluid
that lubricates and protects and cushions the brain.
One of the main things to understand when we're talking about a strike to the head
that causes a knockout is that these layers can tear.
They can tear a small amount or they can tear a large amount.
And they can tear over a long period of time or a huge amount all at once,
all depending on the force of the trauma.
My husband, Tony, who is a professional boxer,
has got a large tear in one of the membranes of his brain from being punched over the years.
I'm going to do a full video about this soon.
So make sure you subscribe and hit that bell for the notification
so you don't miss another video like this.
So going back to what happens to your brain,
when the skull is jolted too fast or is impacted by something,
the brain shifts and hits the inside of the skull.
This can lead to bruising, swelling of the brain,
tearing of the blood vessels, and also injury to the nerves.
Just a quick side note, the area of impact
can also cause the brain to ricochet off the opposite side of the skull.
And this can cause trauma to the brain at the opposite side.
So say you were hit in the forehead, the brain would ricochet off the inside.
And this point of contact is called a coup and a countercoup.
Now, the brain itself is made up of soft tissue called grey and white matter.
And this tissue contains tiny cells called neurons.
These neurons send messages to the rest of the body.
Now, when that blunt force trauma is inflicted on the brain and causes the knockout,
the neurons in our brain overfire rapidly and basically cause the brain to shut off.
It's a protective mechanism,
much like when a laptop or a phone gets overloaded and just crashes.
What also happens at the same time is the chemicals that are made naturally in the body.
These are your electrolytes such as sodium, chloride, magnesium, potassium, and calcium.
They can become unbalanced.
And again, as part of a protective override system, the brain just shuts down.
This is why if you go into the ER with blunt force trauma to the head,
you'll get a CT scan.
And on top of that, you'll also get blood tests to see what your electrolyte levels are
and what treatment you might need to restore the balance.
Now, because your brain is made up of soft tissue,
if it's jolted too hard against the skull, it can result in bleeding, bruising, nerve damage.
But it can also result in tearing of those delicate blood vessels.
This is known as a subdural haematoma and that needs immediate medical attention.
So, what do you do if you've suffered a knockout from a blow to the head?
Disclaimer, this video is only for educational purposes and not a replacement for medical advice.
Well, before I tell you this, I just want to know if you ever have been knocked out or confused.
I would love to read your stories on this.
Please add them in the comments below with any questions and I'll be reading them all.
After experiencing a KO, that's knockout, or blow to the head,
you may have loss of memory.
For example, you can't remember the punch or kick or remember much of the fight at all.
First and foremost, you need to get checked out by a physician at your nearest health facility,
even if you think you're fine.
Please go and do this because it's a serious thing.
You need to give your brain a chance to recover.
And I don't mean go home and immediately sleep.
Definitely don't do that.
That's actually one of the things you shouldn't do because you need to be observed.
Once you're home from the doctor and they've ruled out any major brain trauma,
you need to stay home and put your feet up.
Get some good hydration in you and be with somebody who knows you
and who can check on you to make sure that your brain is healing the way it should be.
So many times in the ER, I've heard nurses say,
now my patient's really restless.
I don't know what's going on.
They were brought in from a head injury.
This sudden confusion or change in mentation can be a major sign
that the head trauma has worsened and serious medical attention is needed.
That's why you need somebody to watch over you.
So go home, rest, get some hydration and don't be alone for at least the first 24 to 48 hours.
Click here if you want to know the best way to get over an injury
where I take you through the recovery methods of fighter's injuries.
