2 min read • January 19, 2021
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When Patrick Mahomes went down last week, speculation ramped up around the nature of his injury. His admittance to concussion protocol obviously raised questions of whether he had truly suffered a concussion or not. Some believed so, others thought it was a nerve issue, or that he was "choked out" on the play. By video, it appears to be none of these three things. While any force to the torso can cause a concussion, the mechanism of the tackle had very little to do with his head or chest, as the defender's arm hit him under the mask and above the pads. There was also not enough torque on the neck to cause trauma to the bone or ligaments, and there was not nearly enough time for the defender to restrict blood flow to his brain. The likelihood is that he suffered momentary trauma to the carotid sinus area, where the vagus nerve and baroreceptors are located. Vasovagal reactions can be caused by a direct blow to this part of the neck, and can cause the same kind of momentary excitement of the nerve, sending a signal to his brain and causing him to pass out. Also known as a brachial stun, we have never seen this in our experience covering football, but it was an uncommon hit, with the defenders' forearm just clearing Mahomes' protective gear. The initial blow and subsequent pulling would be enough to cause the brain to "short circuit", causing the stunned state we saw in Mahomes after the hit. While he will remain in concussion protocol through this week per league rules, he is a good bet to play, and this is a likely and legitimate cause for his unusual injury.
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