The Tribune Democrat, Johnstown, PA

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August 26, 2007

Cory Isenberg | Heads up for safety

By CORY ISENBERG

As far as recent medical studies go, even having your bell rung is something to be taken seriously.

In fact, the dangerous nature of head injuries, especially concussions, continues to be a major source of concern to athletic teams, coaches and parents.

Coaches and athletic trainers play key roles in helping to prevent concussions and in managing them properly if they do occur.

The growing concern of the effect that concussions have on athletes, especially football players, has prompted some high schools to take some dramatic, forward-thinking steps.

In addition to Berlin Brothersvalley having a trainer at many of its sporting events, the Somerset County school now requires all athletes to have a baseline impact test before they can even compete.

The computer-test program is administered by either athletic trainer Candice DiPaquale or by one of the three coaches at the school certified to do so.

“The test measures five different sections, the most important being reaction time and memory,” said Berlin football coach Doug Paul, one of the coaches certified to give the test. “With all the new knowledge out on concussions, it was our school’s way of taking a proactive step on our own.”

Traumatic brain injury, caused by a blow or jolt to the head, can disrupt the way the brain normally works.

Doctors say minor amnesia or confusion could mean serious damage even if young athletes do not lose consciousness.

Berlin’s impact test gives the school something to compare against should an athlete suffer from a head injury.

“We’re real strict about allowing an athlete to return to play if they can’t pass the test after they’ve been hurt,” Paul said.

There are three grades of concussions, with much of the attention focused on the Grade III symptoms, which are the worst ones and involve loss of consciousness and no memory of the event.

Many athletes with mild concussions whose symptoms disappeared within 15 minutes still showed significant decline in memory processing and other symptoms within a week after the injury, which means they still weren’t completely healed.

Another important consideration is that new research published recently in the Journal of Neurosurgery, along with several other studies, finds that young athletes cannot be put back in the game as quickly as adults.

Researchers are reporting that the effects of multiple concussions on young athletes can be cumulative, especially with a second trauma before the brain is fully healed. They can have more serious implications or even death.

High school athletes with a history of three or more concussions who suffered a new concussion were up to nine times more likely to experience common symptoms compared to athletes with no history.

Berlin is hoping that the steps it is taking now will keep athletes from suffering from complications in the future.

“We would rather err on the side of caution, then take the chance that someone is seriously injured,” Paul said.



Cory Isenberg is a sports writer for The Tribune-Democrat.

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