Sports Concussion: Guidelines for Parents and Coaches

In 2004, Jake Snakenberg was a 15 year-old freshman football player at Grandview High School in Aurora, Colorado when he died after suffering a concussion too soon after a previous concussion. This second concussion followed a mild head trauma (concussion) that recently occurred. For Jake and many other teenage athletes in the past have lost their life to “Second Impact Syndrome” due to consecutive head trauma injury before the brain had fully healed from the initial injury. of concussions do not involve loss of consciousness Disturbance in brain fu

  

A concussion is defined as a disturbance in brain function that occurs following a blow or violent shaking of the head. Less than 10% of people with concussions actually demonstrate a loss of consciousness. Persons sustaining a sports concussion will typically demonstrate amnesia, confusion, feeling foggy and a headache. Commonly reported symptoms following a concussion include the following:

Headache

Dizziness

Blurred Vision

Feeling Slowed Down

Nausea

Vomiting

Balance Problems

Sensitivity to Light or Noise

Change in Emotional Behavior

Irritability

Fogginess

Attention/Concentration Difficulties

Memory Problems

Sleep Disturbance

Drowsiness

 Fatigue

To take action to prevent death and chronic post-concussive symptoms, concussion awareness is on the rise with 31 states passing concussion legislature since 2010. The State of Kansas passed the Kansas School Sports Head Injury Prevention Act in 2011. This law requires any athlete with suspected signs or symptoms of a concussion be removed from athletic participation and be cleared by a physician (M.D. or D.O.) before returning to play. Once a concussed athlete’s brain or cognitive function has returned to baseline and symptoms of a concussion are resolved, athletes can begin a supervised return to exertion protocol to prepare the body to return to contact. Taking these appropriate steps to ensure the brain is ready for activity decreases the incidence of chronic headaches, sleeplessness, poor academic performance and possible death that have plagued many youth athletes by returning to the field or court too soon.

Affiliated physicians of Lawrence Memorial Hospital are medically managing patients who are diagnosed with a concussion by implementing neuro-cognitive testing. Physicians at Mt. Oread Family Practice and Eudora Family Care are utilizing ImPACT™, a computer test program, which measure how the brain is functioning. Utilizing this tool as part of a comprehensive examination provides physicians with important information to determine if an athlete is safe to return to sports participation. 

ImPACT™ is a computerized battery of neurocognitive tests that can be used as a baseline prior to a concussion and post-concussion testing. Following a concussion and medical examination, the post-concussion test can track the recovery of the brain compared to the baseline test taken when brain function was not altered.  This testing is an important part of the medical decision to return the player back to sport participation safely.

It is important for parents, coaches and the athletes to be aware of concussions and its impact it has in the health of an individual. Early recognition of a possible concussion to prevent further head trauma is imperative. Education by parents and coaches to the athletes in regards to the symptoms and signs of a concussion should be explained at the beginning of each sport season to athletes in all sports. For more information regarding signs/symptoms of concussions can be found at the Center for Disease Control.

  www.cdc.gov/Concussioninyouthsports

Sports Concussion Services

LMH affiliated physicians at Mt. Oread Family Practice (Lawrence, KS) and Eudora Family Care (Eudora, KS) provide concussion management services to patients following a sports related concussion utilizing ImPACT™ testing. LMH Therapy Services in partnership with these physicians provide concussion prevention and education geared toward youth athletes, parents and coaches. Pre-season baseline testing is available at the affiliated practices for a $25 charge.  Post-concussion evaluation and management are available for athletes with sports-related concussions to consult in return to play decisions. Parents who are interested in individual baseline testing or post-concussion evaluations for their child/adolescent athlete may contact the practices directly.

Mt. Oread Family Practice: (785) 842-5070

Eudora Family Care: (785) 542-2345