Coaches and trainers are often “first responders” for a concussive injury and can play a pivotal role in their assessment and management.
What you need to know about concussions and the UFV Concussion Management Program:
- Concussions cause a combination of temporary and permanent damage to the brain.
- Cumulative effects of concussion have ended the careers of a number of amateur and professional athletes.
- In the United States, coaches and trainers have been held liable for improperly managed concussions.
- If poorly managed, the risk of a subsequent concussion and problems with school, work, and mental heath increase.
- Concussion should not be treated like other physical injuries –- athletes cannot play through a concussion.
- Current concussion guidelines suggest that the athlete be asymptomatic at rest followed by an undefined amount of “light exercise”.
- When properly managed, the possibility of cumulative effects and lingering deficits can be dramatically decreased.
- The purpose of the Concussion Management Program is a safe return to play –- not to stop the athlete from returning to play but to make sure it is done as quickly and safely as possible.
- Baseline testing is performed to provide a metric of an athlete’s pre-injury functioning.
- Baseline assessments are valid for a period of two years.
Contact us today about getting an athlete or team you know involved in the program. |
