UIHC and UI Sports medicine staff hold seminar on conscussions and safety

Members from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and UI Sports Medicine held a seminar and discussion Tuesday evening, addressing concussions and safety in sports.

Dr. Andy Peterson, Dr. George Phillips, Matt Doyle, a certified athletic trainer and Director of UI Athletics Training Services Terry Noonan spoke on the subject, including Iowa's new legislation that requires written verification from a trained medical professional that the athlete diagnosed with a concussion to safely return to practice, evaluating an athlete during competition to detect a possible concussion and the progress in healing from a concussion and the possible effects of head trauma.

The new law covers male and female athletes from grades 7 to 12. It states that an athlete diagnosed with a concussion will be pulled from competition or practice and cannot return without written clearance from a medical professional trained in the evaluation and management of concussion or brain injuries. They include a physician, physician's assistant, chiropractor, advanced registered nurse practitioner, nurse, physical therapist or athletic trainer licensed by a board.

Iowa is the 19th state or 28 to pass this type of legislation, according to Phillips, and 15 more states are considering enacting the same law. Phillips also noted the three key elements to the law are education, recognizing symptoms and removing athletes from competition and formal clearance from a health care provider.

Doyle, the Director of the Athletic Training Outreach Program for UI Sports Medicine, demonstrated post-concussion evaluation and tests. The Sport Concussion Assessment Tool 2 (SCAT2) and Immediate Postconcussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) methods help identify the symptoms of a concussion and determine the progress in recovery. Doyle, who many know for his work with the Hawkeye wrestling program, discusses the effectiveness of post-concussion tests.

During recovery, Noonan said sometimes athletes with head trauma are told not go to class, text or play video games to avoid added stress on brain.

Dr. Peterson touched on the fact that American football leads the way in concussion cases, but they do occur in all sports. They are more prevalent in male athletes, becuase of football and the type of sports they play. One other factoid from Dr. Peterson that I found interesting is that helmets have never been a preventive measure for concussioins. Helmets protect from skull fractures, but aren't able to prevent concussions.

Peterson said coaches originally thought it would delay player's return but ImPACT helps clear athletes quicker at times. Phillips recited a  mantra has been a key rule when dealing with sports concussions, "When in doubt, sit them out."

Watch for additional content on this subject from SourceMedia Group News as part of our prep football and fall sports preview coverage in early August.