When it comes to contact sports, physical impact is simply part of the game. Often the hits and blows that occur during sports don't cause players serious injury. But unfortunately there is one type of injury that can easily go undetected because the injury can't be seen. Concussion or brain injury is caused by a blow to the head forcing the brain to slam against the skull. Athletes of all ages from high school to the pros who sustain multiple concussions can suffer long-term effects, in some cases lasting several months.

At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10, WXYZ-TV/Channel 7 will air Minds of Medicine: Sports Head Injury. The show will follow professional and amateur athletes as they struggle to get their lives back after suffering post-concussion syndrome. Most at risk of receiving a concussion are athletes playing in high contact sports such as football, hockey, and soccer.

Each year approximately 15 percent of athletes who participate in contact sports suffer a concussion. Since the brain is not fully developed until the early 20s, teenagers are more vulnerable to the effects of concussion.

During Minds of Medicine: Sports Head Injury, viewers will meet four athletes: Sixteen-year-old JB Harris of Westland aspires to be a Detroit Red Wing but his dream was jeopardized six months ago when he was knocked out cold after taking an elbow to the head during a high school hockey game.

'I had dizzy spells, I couldn't play hockey or work out and I had slurred speech a little,' explains Harris during the show.

Meanwhile, Detroit Country Day student, Alison Miles of West Bloomfield, sustained a head injury during a soccer game. It was her third concussion. Months later she's physically active again but life isn't the same.

Two years ago when then Washington Capitals player John Gruden suffered a concussion and was forced off the ice he doubted that he would ever play professional hockey again. He talks about concussion being a more serious injury than players sometimes realize.

Retired Hall of Fame hockey player Patrick LaFontaine of Waterford is quite vocal about the importance of players getting the proper treatment following a concussion. During his 15-year career, LaFontaine suffered more than six concussions. Following a hit on the ice in 1996 it took him six months to slowly begin to return to normal. During the program, viewers will also learn about Henry Ford's Sports Concussion Safety Program, which uses state-of-the-art computer technology called ImPACT to evaluate players.

Prior to the start of a season a baseline evaluation is taken of three key cognitive functions; memory, reaction time, and speed of thinking. If an athlete sustains a concussion during the season, he or she undergoes another ImPACT test.

'By comparing these results to his or her baseline data, neuropsychologists can determine when the player has recovered from the concussion and it's safe to return to the game,' says Kenneth Podell, Ph.D., neuropsychologist and co-director of the program.

'Concussions can have wide-ranging injuries and effects, impacting scholastic and social relationships as well as athletic participation,' says Steven Karageanes, D.O., sports medicine specialist and medical director of the program.

Dr. Karageanes and Podell are medical consultants to the National Hockey League's players association.

The most important component of treating a concussion is making sure another one doesn't occur. Since recovery from a concussion varies from player to player it is best to take an individual approach and to use state-of-the-art technology to track recovery so that a player does not return to play too soon. At Henry Ford our clinicians are leaders in the field of concussion and have created the area's leading concussion safety program.

During the evening of the broadcast, viewers can chat online with physicians featured in the show from 7:40 p.m. - 8:40 p.m. at HenryFord.com.