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Schools
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Implement a concussion management plan in your school district...

Step 1: Develop concussion management guidelines

  • Require any athlete who is suspected of having suffered a concussion from play immediately and do not allow the athlete to return to play that day, or at any time until they have written clearance from a medical professional. Concussion symptoms can take time to appear, sometimes hours or days after the injury occurs.

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    Require written medical authorization before allowing the athlete to participate in practice or games ...from a qualified medical professional and ensure that they are 100% symptom free at rest and during exertion (see below).

  • Follow the international graduated return-to-play guidelines After the athlete receives medical clearance to return-to-playand is 100% symptom-free at rest, it is important that they return to play https://>gradual return-to-play guidelines. If symptoms return during exertion, their brains need more time to heal. ACE (Acute Concussion Evaluation) form

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Step 2: Develop a concussion education plan

CDC schools CDC's Heads Up: Concussion in Sports

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has free materials for coaches, parents, and athletes that can be ordered or downloaded

concussion in high school sports

concussion in youth sports

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CDC's Heads Up to Schools: Know Your Concussion ABC's

signs and symptoms checklist

fact sheet for school nurses

fact sheet for teachers, counselors, and school professionals

fact sheet for parents

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Washington State's concussion law, known as the Zackery Lystedt Law, became effective in July 2009. These resources provided by the WA Interscholastic Activities Assoc (WIAA), are now utilized by state school districts and non-profit sports organizations and can be used as a guide for any school district:

sample concussion management guidelines/forms

Step 3: Make sure to educate all involved

    • Coachesneed to replace “bell rung” or “ding” with the words “brain injury.” And they should fully understand that if they return a player to the game before their brain has healed, it can lead to a prolonged recovery, or worse. Then they need to pass that knowledge on to their team.
    • Athletesshould be encouraged to speak up about their own symptoms and feel comfortable enough to tell an adult if their teammates are acting abnormally during practice or the big game. Not being able to remember your locker combination isn’t funny…it’s a brain injury.

    • Parents need to learn how to recognize the sometimes subtle signs that can be indicative of concussions. These symptoms can appear days or weeks after the injury. No athlete should return to play until they are 100% symptom-free at rest and during exertion, and a medical professional has determined it’s safe.

School district personnelmay be the first to notice that something is awry. A normally diligent student who can’t seem to concentrate in class or who no longer turns in assignments, or a school nurse who notices other signs. (school nurse info coming soon)

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Step 4: Consider hiring an athletic trainer

  • Athletic trainers save lives...and they are vital to the health and safety of your student-athletes. Don't underestimate the value these highly trained professionals bring to your athletic program. They’re one of the most important members of your team. Learn more

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Step 5: Consider neuropsychological testing

  • ... it's a good idea under the right circumstances. Computerized neuropsychological testing before an injury occurs can provide valuable information that could help determine a return-to-play schedule for an injured athlete. Many school districts offer this testing to their athletes free of charge through booster clubs or other sources. There are several companies who offer this product: ImPACT, Axon Sports, Concussion Vital Signs, and HeadMinder. After a head injury, before returning to play, an athlete will be re-tested to see if their results match their pre-injury performance. This information provides trained medical professionals with another tool for diagnosing concussion recovery. However, this is only one part of the return-to-play decision.

Current research

Concussion research has increased dramatically over the past several years, particularly at the youth level. However, studies take time. Much of the data that's been accumulated so far applies to adults and does not extrapolate directly to youth athletes. Therefore, it is important to remember that adult remedies may not be suitable for student-athletes. For instance, tests performed on adult helmets, with adult-sized forces and dimensions, do not apply to youth helmets. Human brains are not fully developed until around age 25.

New hockey helmet tackles rotational forces

OTTAWA, Ontario--Bauer Hockey, Inc., the world’s leading manufacturer of ice hockey equipment, officially unveiled the BAUER RE-AKT helmet, the first hockey helmet designed to specifically manage the multiple type of hits in the game, including rotational-force impacts,...

Concussions more harmful to teens: study

The revolving door of concussed professional athletes has changed over time. A play resulting in having one's "bell rung" used to mean a headache for a few days but no missed plays. Then injured players would return within a week. Today, it is more common to see...

Concussions more harmful to teens: study (2)

The revolving door of concussed professional athletes has changed over time. A play resulting in having one's "bell rung" used to mean a headache for a few days but no missed plays. Then injured players would return within a week. Today, it is more common to see...

Heading in Soccer; the investigation continues

Could heading the ball in soccer lead to degenerative brain disease, like that seen in athletes in other sports? That's the question addressed by a review in the January issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. As yet there's not...

Portable brain scanner wins FDA approval

On those rare occasions when an athlete becomes unresponsive, the clock starts ticking. The decision to airlift to a trauma center or transport to the local hospital can mean the difference between life and death. In the case of brain injuries, medical personnel make...

Amino acids may restore concussion's chemical imbalance

Concussions are often called the "invisible" injury because they are usually not detectable by the average CT scan or MRI. Even so, it is often very apparent that something is wrong. That "something" is often defined as a metabolic imbalance, created by the impact of...

Amino acids may restore concussion's chemical imbalance

Concussions are often called the "invisible" injury because they are usually not detectable by the average CT scan or MRI. Even so, it is often very apparent that something is wrong. That "something" is often defined as a metabolic imbalance, created by the impact of...

NHL enforcer Boogaard the "Boogeyman" had CTE at 28

Family, friends, and teammates watched Derek Boogaard's descent to death, in slow motion. When his body was discovered in his Minneapolis apartment on May 13, 2011, his NHL career and his life had been punctuated by substance abuse, stints in rehabilitation centers,...

Study: Concussion Testing Should Not Overlook Physiology

ACSM research finds impaired cerebrovascular reactivity among concussed athletes / With the ice hockey and football seasons now in full swing, kinesiology experts are examining the prolonged effects of concussions on athletes. While many athletes think they are recovered...

Soccer 'Heading' Can Lead to Brain Injury

Nov. 30, 2011 - Using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to study the effects of soccer 'heading,' researchers have found that players who head the ball with high frequency have brain abnormalities similar to those found in traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients. Results...

NOCSAE statement on leatherhead study

NOCSAE® Statement from the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment "The National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) believes scientific research is very important in helping to understand how best to protect...

Routine Head Hits in Sports May Cause Brain Injury

Nov. 18, 2011 -- The brain scans of high school football and hockey players showed subtle injury -- even if they did not suffer a concussion – after taking routine hits to the head during the normal course of play, according to a University of Rochester Medical Center...

Leather vs. Poly; helmet study surprise

Old-fashioned "leatherhead" football helmets from the early 1900s are often as effective as – and sometimes better than – modern football helmets at protecting against injuries during routine, game-like collisions, according to Cleveland Clinic researchers. The study...

Study investigates blood biomarkers for concussion

Researchers at Cleveland Clinic have received a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue studying the effectiveness of a blood test that conclusively identifies concussions in college football players. The test – using blood samples taken before and...

Forces that Fracture

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—While studying concussions in a high school football team, researchers captured the impact of an 18-year-old player who broke his neck during a head-down tackle in real-time. Steven Broglio, an assistant professor in the University of Michigan School of...

CTE or not, these athletes suffered

Autopsy results from four former Canadian Football League (CFL) players showed the presence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in two of the mens' brains. CTE is a degenerative brain disease studied extensively by Boston area researchers at the Center for the...

Researchers' Helmet Ratings Impact Buying Decisions - Buyer Beware

Researchers at Virginia Tech recently released the results of an eight-year study that culminated in an announcement specifically detailing which adult football helmets performed best in reducing concussion risk. Results are part of the Virginia Tech National Impact...

Brain Health

CT scans may increase brain cancer risk

Children and young adults scanned multiple times by computed tomography (CT), a commonly used diagnostic tool, have a small increased risk of leukemia and brain tumors in the decade following their ...

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Neuroscience

Does CTE infect neuron to neuron?

NFL Hall of Famer "Iron Mike" Webster's life ended in 2002 when he suffered a heart attack at age 50. Four Super Bowl rings, nine Pro Bowls, and voted to the NFL's all-time team in 2000, the driven, ...

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Resources

CDC: Return-to-school guide for school ...
  • School professionals play an important role in the health of all students. Recognizing the signs and symptoms of concussion is important, as is managing their return to school post-injury.
  • Some ...
read more...

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