After reading
your critical issue paper “Every 21 Seconds” which discusses; Traumatic
Brain Injury (TBI) in school age students, approaches to identifying resulting
disabilities, recognizing deficits in academic performance and plans for
special education needs for each case, I am surprised by the fact that TBI
happens every 21 seconds in America.
Being a teacher, coach, high school official and former student-athlete,
I can appreciate that many of these TBI’s are sports related. Emergency rooms
treat approximately 500,000 sports related head injuries each year (American
Association of Neurological Surgeons AANS 2011).
As your paper
suggests, many of the TBI’s are not identified due to normal appearance of
students and false impressions that the injuries have healed.
As a high school
basketball official there has been an increased effort to recognize and prevent
head injuries and their complications.
Educational programs have been created and are now mandated for coaches,
administrators, officials, and medical personnel.
A
concussion is a type of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) caused by a bump, blow, or
jolt to the head that can change the way your brain normally works. Concussions
can also occur from a blow to the body that causes the head to move rapidly back
and forth. What seems to be a mild bump or blow to the head can be serious.
Concussions
can occur in any sport or recreation activity. All coaches, parents, and
athletes need to learn concussion signs and symptoms and what to do if a
concussion occurs.
Concussion in
Sports:
- A concussion is a brain injury and all are serious.
- Most concussions occur without loss of consciousness.
- Recognition and proper response to concussions when they first occur can help prevent further injury or even death.
Recently
many states, schools, and sports leagues and organizations have created
policies or action plans on concussion in youth and high school sports. While
these policy efforts show some promise, more research is needed to learn if
these strategies can help educate coaches and parents about this issue and help
protect children and teens from concussion and other serious brain injuries.
Beginning
in 2009, the state of Washington passed the first concussion in sports law, called
the Zackery Lystedt Law. One month
later Max’s Law passed in Oregon. Within the next 3 years, 43 states and the
District of Columbia passed laws on concussions in sports for youth and/or high
school athletes. Most were called “Return
to Play laws”. The National Conference
of State Legislatures created online maps to track and update laws on concussions.
The
state of Ohio set up a concussion policy through the Ohio High School Athletic
Association (OHSAA). The policy states that all adults involved with high school
athletics (such as administrators, officials, and medical personnel) are
responsible for knowing, understanding, and following this policy. Here are
some of the highlights:
“Any
athlete who exhibits signs, symptoms or behaviors consistent with a concussion
(such as loss of consciousness, headache, dizziness, confusion or balance
problems) shall be immediately removed from the contest and shall not return to
play until cleared with written authorization by an appropriate health care
professional. In Ohio, an “appropriate health care professional” shall be a
physician (doctors of medicine (M.D.) and doctors of osteopathy (D.O.)), or a
certified athletic trainer.”
The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has created free tools for
youth and high school sports coaches, parents, athletes, and health care
professionals that provide important information on preventing, recognizing,
and responding to a concussion.
More information can be found at the following:
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