Concussion recovery focus could shift to the classroom

With the sports season in full swing at the Kimball Jr./Sr. High School, local residents and young athletes alike turn their attention to the excitement on and off the field as players battle for a every yard and the fans in the stand cheer on their team dressed in red showing their Longhorn pride.

However, there is one aspect of the local sports that often goes overlooked. That area being concussions.

According to NSAA Assistant Director Ron Higdon, the organization has spent the past few years pushing concussion awareness via their website and requirements put on athletic officials in order to increase the protection of the students participating in athletic events.

“We make concussion training through the NFHS Concussion course mandatory for all coaches. The head coach, assistant coach, volunteers or anyone working with kids are required to take the concussion training course through the NFHS,” Higdon said.

A major part of the preventive measure being taken by the organization and the schools associated with it come in the form of increasing education concerning the signs and symptoms of a concussion along with the implementation of the Concussions Awareness Act, Legislative Bill 260.

“With the passing of LB260, which went into effect last July, if they’re suspected of having a concussion, they’re required by law to be pulled out of activity by the head coach, assistant coach, physical trainer or anyone that suspects something. In order to return, they have to be seen by a health care professional and have a signed document saying that they’re ready to participate again,” Higdon said.

The current precautions have been set in place in order to prevent the possible ramifications of players being left on the field and attaining a second concussion which could lead to far more detrimental effects to their cognitive abilities.

“I think we’re a lot more cognizant of the long term effects, especially Second Impact syndrome where if you’ve already had a concussion and they put you back in the game and you receive another one. That’s when you really run into some serious issues,” Higdon said.

Even after being cleared to return to athletics, coaches and athletic officials are also required to ease players back into the field in order to protect players from further injuries, according to Kimball Jr./Sr. High School Athletic Director Ken Smith.

“You don’t come back and have them do a full blown practice. You work them back in slowly and make sure they don’t have any recurring signs or symptoms, because the second concussion could be five times as bad as the first concussion. We still monitor them for an extended period of time. Once we feel confident, they go back to full activity,” Smith said.

According to Smith, the local high school and many of the schools that they compete against have an EMT on the sideline during games so that concussions can be diagnosed on the spot and treated as soon as possible.

“If we have a player go down and we’re at home, we turn that player over to that EMT whose a professional to make the decision about whether it’s a head injury or leg injury and whether or not they can continue playing or need to sit out,” Smith said.

However, even in the absence of an EMT, coaches and athletic officials at the high school are given materials in order to decide whether or not a player must be removed from a game.

“Every one of our coaches carries a signs and symptoms of concussion sheet with them when they go to an activity or when they’re at practice. They also have a check list, and if we have a student who we think may have a concussion, they’ll fill them in. If there’s any question at all about whether or not they have a concussion, they will hold a player out of activity until they’re seen by medical personnel,” Smith said.

Along with posting signs and symptoms of a concussion and having medical personnel on site for games, many schools in Nebraska are also utilizing impact testing, which is a test that players take prior to the season that can serve as a benchmark for schools to use to figure out the impact that a concussion has had on an athlete’s cognitive abilities, according to Higdon.

“After they’ve had a concussion and they’re talking about ‘return to play’ or they’re trying to diagnose it, they can make them take that same impact test and do some comparison, and it gives them some cognitive information to allow them to make an educated decision on whether to hold them out or if they’re ready to return to play,” Higdon said.

Though there is a strict protocol when considering ‘return to play’ for young athletes, the effects of a concussion on a students’ ability to perform in a classroom have widely gone unaddressed.

“A concussion is a type of a minor brain injury. Your brain is not functioning the right way. We require you to sit out and make sure that it’s right before we allow you to do athletics. However, you still go to class and do everything the same way,” Higdon said.

However, a work group in conduction with the Department of Health and Human Services consisting of athletic trainers doctors, members of the Nebraska Brain Injury Association, and a few of the people that came up with LB260 are currently working on a proposal for a ‘return to learn’ protocol’ for schools.

“When you’re walking into a fluorescent lighting school and you’re required to sit down and read a book and try to make some decisions when your brain is not functioning the way it is, I think easing into all that is definitely going to be one of the steps,” Higdon said. “They’re coming up with some really good stuff that’s based on research. There’s going to be some really significant and pointed steps you’re going to have to take in order to get back into the classroom.”

Smith echoed Higdon’s sentiment on the need for a ‘return to learn’ protocol, especially considering the limited concussion training of the average high school staff member.

“Right now, we’re really educating our coaches and sponsors, but the average classroom teacher doesn’t have that training so I think if something like that would come across, it definitely would be beneficial especially to a student with a severe concussion,” Smith said.

However, until a protocol can be set up, the local high school will continue with trying to educate as many parents and students as possible by continuing to give a presentation in the student center around the winter sports season as they have done for several years to inform parents and students on certain factors to watch for both on the field and at home that could point to a concussion

.

“This year, we’re going to bring Ross Van Amburg in. He’s working with the state of Nebraska, and his knowledge is in brain injury. They’re putting together a packet about return to activity that they’re going to bring across the state and educate people on,” Smith said.

Though, according to Smith, the high school only encounters one or two concussions per year, Smith believes that the current push for education concerning concussions and the severity of long term effects that can occur front he injury if not treated properly is an important step in making sure that student athletes can continue to play sports and go through the school year without harm and remain successful in their studies.

“I think we are diagnosing a lot more, because we are aware of it and understand the importance of it. I think in the long run it’s going to be a huge safety factor for our student athletes. The chances of them compounding the problem they already have is not going to happen because of the education,” Smith said.