Coaches need a concussion plan...
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Every school district and private youth sports
organization should have a sideline protocol for
dealing with head injuries, and all sideline personnel should
practice the procedure. You don't want to have to
think about what to do when facing a situation
where time may not be on your side.
What to do if your athlete
is hurt...
1) Remove the athlete from play
immediately, and
KEEP
THEM OUT if any
concussion symptoms
are evident or if you suspect for any reason,
that the athlete may have sustained a
concussion.
2) Perform a sideline
evaluation If you do not have access to an athletic trainer or other medical
professional, assess the athlete using the
Sideline Concussion
Evaluation Tool or SCAT 2 and determine if emergency medical assistance is required. If not,
re-assess the athlete every
5-10 minutes for several hours after the injury. Consider assigning a staff member to stay
with the athlete at all times to look for signs
of deterioration.
3) Notify the athlete's parents that their child
has suffered a possible concussion. Make
sure they know the signs/symptoms, and that their onset may be hours or days after the
injury occurred.
4) Only allow the athlete
to return-to-play if they have written medical
authorization Have the athlete obtain a
written
return-to-play authorization from a qualified
medical professional and ensure that they are
100% symptom-free at rest and during exertion
(see below) before allowing them to resume practice or play.
5) Verify that the athlete is 100% symptom-free
before allowing them to participate in any
activity.
Coaches are sometimes the last to know. Ask parents/teammates if they're aware of
any lingering symptoms such as a headache.
6) Institute a
gradual return-to-play procedure
after the athlete is medically cleared, and make
sure they are symptom-free during exertion. If symptoms
return during exercise, their brain may not be fully healed.
Related:
Guidelines for care of the unconscious athlete
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The
CDC's "Heads Up" campaign
offers free downladable information for:
coaches
schools
parents
athletes
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Additional resources from the CDC
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