Nikki Brammeier has revealed she has been suffering with headaches, dizziness and panic attacks in the aftermath of her crash at the European Cyclo Cross Championships 10 days ago – symptoms she says left her a "complete mess". The British rider does not know when she’ll return to racing but urged the cycling world to take the issue of concussion more seriously.
Focus on concussion in sport has been intensified in recent years, especially in rugby and American football, and the dangers posed by cycling are obvious, even if helmets are now compulsory. Just last week, the German rider Dominik Nerz revealed that repeated head-impact crashes had left him with lasting problems that forced a retirement at the age of 27.
Brammeier, together with compatriot Helen Wyman, crashed at 50km/h on the first corner of the Euros course in north west France, hitting the gravel head first and smashing her helmet. Hospital doctors stitched up her face and lip and, after scans on her head, she was given the 'all clear', though her situation began to deteriorate.
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"My head started to get a little concerning. It was the most intense headache I've ever experienced, the only way to describe it is like a hard metal headband tightening around my head & not releasing. I started to vomit, I couldn't really walk without help because my balance was totally off," she describes in a long-written blog post.
"The next day we travelled back to Belgium, 8 hours in the car, that wasn't much fun. I was drifting in and out of sleep the whole journey. My pain was getting worse, my eye had now totally closed over and the other I could barely see out of. As it started to turn dark, the lights on the cars came on and I just couldn't deal with them. I couldn't deal with anything. Noise, people, any sound. It was just all too much."
Brammeier went back to hospital for more tests and, after being told everything was OK, she headed back to her home country, the UK, to get herself fully checked out.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
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