Howard County School System recently became the first school district in the state to adopt a comprehensive plan on how to treat and handle student athletes? concussions.
The school system is partnering with a number of agencies and regional medical facilities to develop a protocol to better assess whether a student has suffered a concussion and even help determine when he or she should return to the playing field.
“It?s really a way to do early recognition and make sure the family, pediatrician and others involved know what?s going on and about this school program,” said Dr. Gerry Gioia, director of the neuropsychology program at the Children?s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
Gioia said there?s research to show that high school athletes take longer to recover from concussions than adults. Concussions also frequently lead to catastrophic conclusions, like death, he said. Howard County is taking a lead role in becoming the first county to develop a plan to tackle concussions, he said.
The decision on when athletes who?ve suffered concussions should return to the field will be made by the individual school?s athletic trainers, Children?s National Medical Center staff and the athlete?s personal physician.
“Our goal of providing a safe, nurturing environment extends to our gymnasiums and playing fields,” Michael Williams, the school system?s coordinator of athletics, said in a statement. “We want to do everything we can to ensure our student athletes remain safe and healthy.
“We really have to put a premium on identifying concussions as soon as possible,” he said.
Although direct statistics were unavailable and could range, a conservative estimate is that half of all concussions in student athletes go undetected, he said.
A component of the partnership to help trainers determine concussions will be the use of ImPACT, a computer-based testing program that assesses athletes? memory processing and reaction times ? all functions greatly impaired by concussions, Gioia said.
This testing will likely be implemented at schools beginning in November, he said. The 2007-08 school year will be a trial period for the program and will cost $750 per school.
Howard County Health Officer Dr. Peter Beilenson has coached 26 seasons of youth sports and has seen firsthand the dangers of head injuries in young people.
“It?s really important for schools to address this, he said. “You don?t want these kids getting multiple concussions.”
Concussions also can lead to permanent brain injury and sometimes death, health officials warn.
“With the way some high school athletes are brought up, you get your clock rung and it?s almost [wrongly] like a badge of honor,” said Diane Triplett, executive director of the Brain Injury Association of Maryland.
“If you take a look at what we see in the National Football League, which is an extreme example, repeat concussions can lead to permanent damage.”
AT A GLANCE:
Symptoms of concussions:
» Headache, pressure in head
» Nausea, vomiting
» Balance difficulties
» Double or blurred vision
» Increased sensitivities to lights, noise
» Sluggish, being in a “fog”
» Trouble concentrating
» Feeling “just not right”
Source: Brain Injury Association of Maryland
