Unless you live under a rock, you have already heard that Tiger Woods was been in a car accident. The facts and details that surround the incident are still up in the air and may never be fully revealed. One of the details is very concerning. It was widely reported that the world’s #1 golfer was unconscious for 6 minutes. That type of a head injury could be extremely dangerous. Consider a professional boxer who has gone 12 rounds and receives a punishing blow at the end of the fight. Those knockout punches rarely keep an athlete on the canvas for more than 30 seconds. Even the most devastating punches seem to only render an opponent on the ground just long enough to be counted out by the referee.
In Saturday’s event, Tiger was out long enough for most high school athletes to run an entire mile. The trauma that a brain would have to undergo to render that type of result would be pretty significant. A concussion or swelling of the brain would seem to be one cause. If his heart or lungs stopped working that would be incredibly concerning. A lack of oxygen to the brain would risk possible brain damage. It may also make the a future, more severe injury more likely. If Tiger did receive some brain trauma and was hit on the head again, before it had a chance to heel, it could be fatal. Recently in the NFL Brian Westbrook and Ben Roethlisberger were both benched due to head injuries of their own. The doctors and coaches both felt that a repeated blow to the head may result in a serious injury or death. Hopefully in Tiger’s case, he can avoid being rescued by his wife again in the near future.
