Sports Concussion Management

West Potomac linebacker Matthew Voltmer ended up on the ground on Aug. 14 and he doesn’t remember how he got there. It was a morning session during two-a-day practices at the high school in Mount Vernon, and the Wolverines were engaged in a hitting drill. A collision was the culprit, but Voltmer is uncertain of the details. “I think we collided heads. To be honest, I don’t remember the actual collision,” Voltmer said. “I remember being about three feet away and then, next thing I know, I’m on my knees in front of him.” The junior got up, shook his head and got back in the drill. Later that afternoon, between practices, Voltmer was watching TV when he realized the screen appeared brighter than usual. He didn’t feel right, but he loves football and wanted to return for the team’s second practice. His mother had different ideas. A teammate had informed Voltmer’s mother of the hit her son took earlier in the day. After shining a...

In 1991 I graduated with a Ph.D., in clinical psychology with an emphasis in neuropsychology. I completed additional training in neuropsychology at the Cambridge Hospital (a training hospital for Harvard Medical School) and then at the University of Michigan Medical School. I was in my fourth year as a staff neuropsychologist at a residential brain injury facility in East Lansing when I had my first and only concussion. I was at the Michigan Athletic Club, a sprawling recreational facility in East Lansing, where I spent several hours every day playing basketball and lifting weights. There was a regular crowd of us that played pickup basketball there daily and we all knew each other pretty well. On this particular day there were not yet enough of us to play a full game so we were messing around playing a kind of half-court free for all. I remember jumping and reaching for a ball that was coming off the hoop when a good friend of mine got under me. I was started to fall and he tried to...

Washington Redskins kick returner Rock Cartwright remembers his brain "shaking like a bell" when he was walloped in a game against the New York Giants a few years ago.  "You know how a bell vibrates? That's how my brain was going at that time," he said. "I think five minutes later, I came back to myself. I went back out there and played football." What Cartwright never did when the hit happened? He never told Washington's medical staff his head ached. He's not alone. Thirty of 160 NFL players surveyed by The Associated Press from Nov. 2-15 replied that they have hidden or played down the effects of a concussion. The AP embarked on the most extensive series of interviews about concussions since the subject became a major issue this season, talking to five players on each of the 32 teams — nearly 10 percent of the league — seeking out a mix of positions and NFL experience to get a cross-section of players. While not a scientific sampling,...

Dylan Quinn never saw the hit – doesn’t even remember it – but he’s been dealing with its after-effects for two weeks now. The play occurred during the second quarter of Frankfort High’s regular season finale against Danville. Facing a third-and-long, Quinn dropped back to throw and aired out a deep pass down the middle of the field to Kaleb Leach which fell incomplete. Most in attendance followed the flight of the ball. Few saw Quinn crumple to the ground after a vicious hit by an unblocked Admiral from Quinn’s blindside. “I didn’t even see it,” Quinn said. “They hit me helmet to helmet and took me to the ground.” Quinn sat on the sidelines for the rest of the game in a fog. He felt tired. He was seeing double. He vomited three times. “I don’t remember the first half,” he said. All signs indicated a concussion, the classic athletic head injury that has received plenty of national headlines as of late...

This wasn't the type of hit that makes SportsCenter or triggers a collective "ooh" from the crowd. No, the hit that sidelined Boise State running back Matt Kaiserman for more than two months was, as he put it, "pretty mundane." The results were anything but and exposed one of the biggest safety issues facing football at all levels: Mounting concern about head injuries. Kaiserman, a redshirt freshman, took a helmet-to-helmet hit during a fall practice on Aug. 16. "It wasn't a big hit at all," said Kaiserman, a star at Skyview High in Nampa. He continued to practice. But running backs coach Keith Bhonapha quickly noticed a difference in Kaiserman and called for trainers. "I just knew that there was something that wasn't clicking right there," Bhonapha said. "You're so quick to want these guys to be tough guys and, 'You're fine, get back in there.' But I'm glad I didn't." Head athletic trainer Marc Paul cannot discuss specific injuries,...

MONDAY, Jan. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Youth soccer carries a higher risk of injury than many other contact sports, with injuries such as concussion and musculoskeletal trauma occurring fairly commonly, according to a report published online Jan. 25 in Pediatrics. Chris G. Koutures, M.D., and Andrew J.M. Gregory, M.D., of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness write that the sport, known as football outside the United States, is played by an estimated 15.5 million Americans, including over 700,000 girls and boys who play the game in high school. Growing numbers of players have led to an increase in the number of soccer-related injuries, they say. In 2006, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimated there were 186,544 soccer-related injuries, of which 80 percent occurred in people under 24 years of age, and 44 percent among those under 15 years of age. Knee and ankle injuries were the most common for girls and boys, respectively, the...

Working in sports concussion management we often hear about an athlete who has a concussion and is returned to the same contest where a second concussion is sustained. In many of these cases the effect on the athlete is significant, sometimes devastating. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and others in the medical community are doing their best to educate coaches, athletic trainers, athletes and parents about the symptoms of concussion and the importance of early intervention. The most important part of that intervention is removing the athlete from the contest. The CDC website for coaches includes the following statement: “If you think your athlete has sustained a concussion… take him/her out of play, and seek the advice of a health care professional experienced in evaluating for concussion. “ It also admonishes the coach “don’t assess it [the concussion] yourself… seek the advice of a health care professional.” Along with this advice...

Cartoons showing birds swirling overhead when a character gets bonked on his melon may be amusing to watch, but the real deal isn’t a bit funny. On Monday, the Mukilteo district school board made official what district educators already have been doing in practice – making sure our youth are protected from life-threatening head injuries. The board approved a policy based on procedures created by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) and the Washington State School Directors Association (WSSDA) that are designed to ensure student athletes are thoroughly checked out following a possible concussion or head injury. School districts statewide are adopting similar policies following passage of Engrossed House Bill 1824 in the state Legislature last spring. Commonly called the Zackery Lystedt law, the bill was written after Zackery, a junior high school football player in 2006, suffered a concussion during a game but returned to play without proper...

A LEADING surgeon will review all head injuries suffered by National Rugby League players next year after international research connected multiple concussions with dementia later in life. Neurosurgeon Dr Richard Parkinson's concern over body-check tackles, where defenders launch their bodies at the opponent without the use of arms in the usual tackling style, led to his push for the study. Experts say the ramifications of the study will be felt across the game from a junior level right to full-time professionals. The dangers posed by certain tackling techniques, the effectiveness of head gear, the duty of care for players and the effectiveness of game rules will all be questioned. The 12-month study, backed by St Vincent's Hospital, will analyse every neck, lower back and head injury sustained during games and training sessions in 2010. Neither clubs nor players will be identified in the final report to ensure full disclosure. ''The incidence of injuries in rugby league are always...

Half way through the second half of a game, Carol the star forward on the girls soccer team jumps to head the ball and collides solidly with a defender from the other team. The girls both fall backward and Carol strikes her head on the ground. She reaches for her head and as the other girls gather around her the coach comes onto the field. After a few tense minutes Carol gets up and walks off. She is slightly unsteady on her feet, but she makes it unassisted to the sideline where she sits on the bench holding her head. It was clear to Carol’s coach, and others who were there, that Carol had suffered a concussion, and there was no question of her returning to the game. As straight forward as this situation seems, there are still many questions that need to be answered. Does Carol need to be taken to the emergency room to be evaluated? Does she need a CAT scan? Should she go back to school right away? Will she be able to play in the big game next week? These questions are less...

By Matthew Stanmyre and Jackie Friedman/The Star-Ledger  In the second of a 3-part series on concussions and their impacton youth sports, Star-Ledger staff writers Matthew Stanmyre and Jackie Friedman take a look at the dangers of competitive cheerleading.  Part 1: the effects of head injuries in young athletes, what New Jersey is doing and what more can be done to protect our kids. Part 3: A look at the steps schools and youth leagues in NewJersey are taking to cope with brain injuries and other safety issues. Cheer leading has the second highest rate of concussions among athletes. The West Millford High cheerleading squad has had several incidents with concussion over the last few years. (Jennifer Brown/The Star-Ledger)   Alexa McCormack doesn’t remember much about the day that changed her life. Not the stunt gone awry. The impact of the collision. The panic in the gymnasium. But the reminders are there almost every day: headaches, prescription medication...

NEW YORK - While headlines focused this week on potential long-term risks of head injuries to pro football players, Jarek Dombrowski was just hoping to get through his school days without the headaches coming back. Jarek, 16, returned to high school in Norwich, Conn., on Monday after a neurologist sent him home for most of last week. He suffered a concussion during football practice, and while the nausea and blurred vision he endured in class the next day had gone away, the headaches continued. Still banned from football on doctor's orders, he's "not doing too bad," said his mother, Donna Dombrowski. But the headaches have been coming back in the afternoons.   Dombrowski said the recent news reports about retired NFL players blaming mental problems on gridiron head injuries have made her think about Jarek. She isn't sure how concerned to be. And while she enjoys seeing him play, she's torn about whether she wants him to suit up again. In fact, experts say they know very...

— Nate Burleson has had about a half dozen concussions since he's been in the NFL. At least he thinks so. "After your head hits the ground you don't always remember what's happened," the Seahawks' veteran wide receiver said. "I've had six or seven since I've been in the league. It feels like I've had more, but I haven't always told the trainers so I could keep playing." Fellow Seahawks Josh Wilson and Marcus Trufant each got knocked woozy last weekend, with Wilson face down and motionless for a moment before he jogged off. Both starting cornerbacks returned to finish the loss at Arizona, then were diagnosed with concussions. Wilson hasn't practised since. He is doubtful to play Sunday at Minnesota, leaving Kelly Jennings the likely starter. Three-time Pro Bowl linebacker Lofa Tatupu has had concussions, but won't say how many. He's donating his brain to research after he dies. All play for a team that has a doctor who is considered an expert in brain trauma,...