Figure 1: McGrath, N. (Producer). (2010). Model for concussion management in the student-athlete. [Web Graphic]. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=98c88c5d-d658-406a-8308-c88f7ed9254f@sessionmgr110&vid=6&hid=118
Table 1: McGrath, N. (Producer). (2010). Reasonable accommodations for the student-athlete recovering from concussion. [Web Graphic]. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=98c88c5d-d658-406a-8308-c88f7ed9254f@sessionmgr110&vid=6&hid=118
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Management Plan
The risk and effects of a concussion make the detection and management crucial to the recovery of an athlete. McGrath suggests five simple steps schools should follow to manage concussions in their school: education, baseline test, post-concussion testing and evaluation, academic accommodation, and a return-to-play decision (2010). Kaiserman from the St. Luke’s Concussion Clinic explained the composition of a management plan:
A comprehensive management plan should include education and training for parents, athletes, coaches and other school staff, protocols for removing athletes from play, protocols for returning an athlete to school and sports, as well as a process for ensuring a student can receive adequate academic accommodations (such as half days of school, study breaks, etc. that can be managed with a 504 plan) as provided under federal law. (Kaiserman) In the top figure to the left McGrath illustrates the roles parents, coaches, and other professionals should play in this process. Athletic trainers should be teaching the student athlete about the risk of concussions and their symptoms. This education could be supplemented by a neuropsychologist. Coaches, neuropsychologists, and school psychologists should ensure each athlete completes a preseason baseline test. After a possible concussion, these psychologists, the coaches, and the team physician should be involved in the post injury evaluation and testing. Teachers and the psychologists should also provide academic support. Once a player is ready to return-to-play, the parents, team and personal physicians, and a neuropsychologists should be involved. These individuals will ensure the best choice is made for the athlete’s safety. McGrath also suggests several accommodations, which could be used to assist a concussed student rest while they are recovering. These suggestions are listed in the table on the bottom left. It is important to ensure post-concussion student athletes have sufficient time and rest to recover. Initially, they will be excused from class, but as their brain heals they will need to be slowly integrated back into their school work and the classroom. Often athletes, especially those still in high school, will become anxious to return to the game, yet allowing them to do so too early can lead to further hurdles that must be overcome. “Returning an athlete to play too soon has been shown to increase the risk of cumulative neurocognitive impairments and potential catastrophic injury associated with second-impact syndrome” (Covassin, 2009, p. 642). Problems can also occur when a post-concussion athlete tries to return to academic pursuits before their brain has had time to mend itself. Time, with proper treatment, will prevent any further complication (Kaiserman). The time necessary for this healing may be longer than an athlete or coach wishes, for “a recent manuscript has found significant differences in recovery rates between high school and collegiate athletes” (McClincy, 2006, p. 34). Younger athletes, including those in high school, take much longer than their older counterparts to recover from a concussion. This may be due to the undeveloped state of their brains or unawareness of concussions which leads to no medical care afterwards (“Recognizing concussion,” n.d.). Steven Broglio, an assistant professor of kinesiology and community health at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, noticed a trend in his research; high school impacts tend to have more force behind them than those at college. This may be because of the undeveloped muscle systems in adolescents which makes their heads more exposed to brusque movements (Samuels, 2010). For these reasons it is important to ensure the management of a concussed athlete is done properly. |