Kids still being put back in the game after head injuries
RITA WATSON
Just as students are returning and gearing up for high school sports, another alarming report surfaced in the journal Neurology, which underscored the relationship between head injuries in professional football players and dementia.
While it may seem like a far stretch from high school students to professionals carrying the pigskin, it isn’t. “Even a seemingly mild hit to the head can disrupt neurological functions of a young athlete putting the child at risk for a prolonged and more complicated recovery when a concussion occurs,” says Dr. Sherri Provencal, who is with the department of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School.
Hasbro Hospital: Dr. Elizabeth Jacobs
Dr. Elizabeth S. Jacobs, of the pediatric emergency department (ED) at Hasbro Children’s Hospital said, “Even though awareness is increasing and the [concussion] law has been out there for two years, I am still seeing kids in the ED every week whose coaches returned them to play after a head injury — even with parents at the game.”
In Rhode Island the concussion law took effect in July 2010 mandating training for coaches. That same year, researchers here, reporting in the journal Pediatrics, determined after a review of national databases of ED visits by teens, that half of the 502,000 visits were sports-related. Approximately 95,000 resulted from concussions that students received playing football, basketball, baseball, soccer and ice hockey.
Hasbro Children’s Hospital has a website with videos at which Jacobs, assistant professor of pediatric medicine, describes how to recognize and treat concussions. She also discusses the use and value of computerized evaluation through ImPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing).
Although ImPACT provides a valuable baseline for treatment, Jacobs believes that in some ways testing is “the icing on the cake.” She pointed out: “The focus still needs to be on increasing awareness, education and follow-through. And that’s the frustration. We are failing these kids because they are returning to play after a head injury. Despite my mantra ‘When in doubt, sit them out,’ it’s just not happening.”
Parents and children: Dr. Sherri Provencal
The difficulty that parents face comes when young athletes are injured and do not want to miss out on the game or take the time required to rest and recover. But Provencal emphasized the danger: “Young athletes who return to school or to their sport too quickly chance re-injury and longer lasting neurocognitive effects.”
Provencal added: “Concussed athletes can experience debilitating headaches, fatigue, irritability, mood swings and concentration problems. Complete physical and cognitive rest is needed; that is, no sports, exercise, video games, texting, computer time or school work. This can be very difficult for a teenager. Therefore, we need to appreciate the psychological side effects of concussion — feelings of isolation, self-identity changes and negative beliefs about themselves — in order to promote recovery.”
Copyright 2012 Rita Watson/ All Rights Reserved
To see photos and read the full newspaper version:
Please see the impact of concussions on Page D1 of Monday, September 17, 2012 issue of Providence Journal (Part One)
Please see Concussions still happening on Page D3 of Monday, September 17, 2012 issue of Providence Journal (Part Two)
From Editor: Please see Study of pro football players should set off alarms on Page D1 of Monday, September 17, 2012 issue of Providence Journal
Rita Watson, MPH, ( ritawatson.com ) is a regular contributor to the Journal and a relationship columnist for The Providence Journal’s “All About You” section.