PSJA North athlete Marcus Hernandez said he learned an important lesson after experiencing multiple concussions throughout his varsity football career.

“With a concussion, you have to take your time, cause this is your life. You can’t rush a concussion,” Hernandez said. 

Hernandez’s most recent concussion was last season.

“It was just a simple head to head hit, it didn’t seem like a lot, but after the game, I really couldn’t see straight,” Hernandez recalled. “I was dizzy, and I couldn’t sleep. Even though those are kind of minor symptoms — I knew something was up.”

PSJA North Athletic Trainer John Herrera studied kinesiology. He said part of understanding what players are experiencing comes from questioning and understanding the symptoms.

Symptoms include difficulty concentrating, trouble sleeping, irritability, light sensitivity, headaches or migraines and inability to focus.

“In any instance of head trauma, you need to make sure you do a neuroexam on the spot,” South Texas Health System Clinic Family Medicine at Tres Lagos Dr. Jeffrey Panting Crespo said. “That’s why we have sports medicine doctors on the field, athletic professionals on the field.”

There are several other athletic injuries to look out for besides concussions. In 2022, over 3,000 patients were treated at STHS for sports related injuries. 

While you can’t fully avoid an injury, Crespo said there are ways to minimize the risk 

“It means you train in a way where you have excellent mobility, excellent balance, excellent equilibrium,” Crespo said. “These abilities, what they’ll do is help you have tissue that’s more able to sustain injury.”

Crespo calls it pre-habilitation.

Attending summer conditioning can also student athletes minimize their risk of getting hurt

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