High School athletics has always been an integral part of public education in America for young men and women of school age. The benefits of athletic participation extend beyond the playing field as many of our high school athletes also excel academically and represent the core of student leadership in our schools. One of the risks associated with athletic participation are the increasing numbers of sports-related injuries, particularly head injuries.
The number of sports-related concussions appears to be on the rise prompting awareness campaigns from athletic associations and medical advocates to protect our youth. The acute nature of concussion related injuries include symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, confusion, slurred speech, and memory problems. Visits to the emergency room for concussions for children ages 8 to 19 doubled over a ten year period from 1997 to 2007. The sports students are most prone to suffer a concussion in are football, soccer, lacrosse, ice hockey, and cheerleading. While brain injuries across the entire general population range from 1.6 million to 3.8 million annually, the range of football related brain injuries alone range from 43,200 to 67,200, annually placing it in the top risk category.
The National Athletic Trainers’ Association and the National Academy of Neuropsychology Foundation launched a campaign recently to educate athletes, coaches, teachers, and parents about the danger of concussions. Legislation has been introduced from the United States House, Education, and Labor Committee that would require schools to develop a plan for concussion safety and management.
Hopatcong Public Schools, New Jersey, implemented computerized preseason baseline and post-injury neuropsychological required testing for all student athletes in the fall of 2010. Athletic Director Tom Vara and trainer John Canzone obtained a computerized testing program with the support of the high school Parent Teacher Student Organization. The program helps establish a quantitative baseline assessment score for all athletes as one criteria to determine an athlete’s ability to return to sports after receiving a head injury. After an injury to the head, a post-test is administered to the student-athlete to determine if and when the student may return to participate. The athlete must sit out for a week and pass this post-test in order to return to practices.
“The stakes are too high,” said Vara, “We need to make sure we do everything we can to keep the kids on our teams healthy by preventing injuries and by making sure they’re able to return from injury at the proper time.” Hopatcong took the lead in this important area of physical health by conducting a region wide athletic clinic in early September and introduced the computerized baseline assessment program for other school districts to consider implementing. These efforts will go a long way to educating the general public about the dangers associated with athletic head injuries and the steps Hopatcong is taking to ensure student safety on and off of the playing field.
