[Craniocerebral trauma in sports. With recommendations for prevention]

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is found in many sports. A mild head injury (concussion of brain) is found in more than 80%, mainly in sports with contact to others. Especially affected by death are air sports, horse riding and cycling, whereby brain damage often is the leading injury. With the example of a cycling accident the possible processing dynamics of a mild head injury with secondary brain damage through an intracranial hematoma is demonstrated in the following. For the assessment of sports ability, there is often made the division with symptoms as confusion, amnesia and unconsciousness after a mild head injury (scale 1-3). According to the gravitational scale of cerebral concussion, an adequate sports break should be kept. Postcommotional symptoms prove sports inability. A chronic brain damage is not rarely found in some combative sports. In this case the injury may result in a traumatic encephalopathia with the evaluation of dementia and in some cases also Parkinson's disease is observed. To prevent a TBI there should be worn an adequate protective headgear especially by children in training and in sports contests concerning risk sports. Further recommendations for prevention are presented and with them there will also be responded to sports ability in neurosurgical diseases.