Recently, there has been an increased amount of attention paid to concussions and post-concussive syndrome (also CTE) in the NFL. From what I understand, the NFL has done some things in terms of standardizing the assessment of players who suffer concussions, in the hopes of protecting them from developing post-concussive syndrome and other consequences.

 

How are concussions handled in Kentucky prep football? Are there guidelines about how to assess and deal with concussions in KY? Does a neurologist have to give the "OK" in order for a player to return to action following a concussion? Also, are there "rules" about how many concussions a player can sustain playing high school football before he is permanently sidelined from the game?

I have some questions. What are some of the symptoms of a concussion? Is there a lot of vomiting involved? What else? I was at a game Friday night and watched a player get hit very hard a few times. I noticed he was very woozy on his feet. Watched him bend over on the sidelines and fall to his knees. Second half, he was stumbling on the field. When he finally came out, I saw team Doctors attending but not really doing anything. He never went back in the game after that. Also heard he was throwing up at the half and after the game at a friends house. Maybe he just had a bad stomach virus. Hope he is alright and gets proper medical attention if it is a concussion. Kind of wondering though.

Typical symptoms of concussion:

• Headache
  
• Dizziness
  
• Nausea
  
• Stun
  
• Impairment
  
• Irritability
  

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Recently, there has been an increased amount of attention paid to concussions and post-concussive syndrome (also CTE) in the NFL. From what I understand, the NFL has done some things in terms of standardizing the assessment of players who suffer concussions, in the hopes of protecting them from developing post-concussive syndrome and other consequences.

 

How are concussions handled in Kentucky prep football? Are there guidelines about how to assess and deal with concussions in KY? Does a neurologist have to give the "OK" in order for a player to return to action following a concussion? Also, are there "rules" about how many concussions a player can sustain playing high school football before he is permanently sidelined from the game?

 

I know where I am, we use ImPACT testing for all concussions. Everyone of the kids has a baseline test and then if there is a concussion suspected then he/she will be retested. The test scores are compared with each other. I think the key is the coaches/trainers knowing the athlete. I do not think every kid who is dizzy has a concussion and I do not think every kid who does not look like they have any symptoms does NOT have a concussion (I hope that made sense). I think nowadays you have to be conservative.

 

Forgot to add this hence the edit. ImPact testing is not used by many high schools in NKY. I know for sure of 3 or 4 who use it. I also know all NFL and MLB teams use it as well.

I have been around two program and both were carefull to recognize and deal with concussions. Does anyone know if high schools are required to report concussions to KHSAA? You too commonly hear of kids receiving there second or third concussion, or more. At some point the kid should be prohibited from continuing to play. D1 programs supposedly stop looking at high school recruits after their third concussion because the health risks grow exponentially with each subsequent concussion. Should a limit be enforced to protect these kids?

After the first concussion a player is supposed to be out for 7-10 days, but that is based on the fact that the great majority of patients will be back to baseline by that time. If a player does not have normal testing (like the Impact score) they should not be playing. A second hit on a brain that is still recovering can be devastating. That is were you get your fatalities. Each successive head injury requires longer recovery and although I cannot remember the exact statistics, after a third concussion the risk of severe brain injury goes up so much that the player should be retired from contact sports. It needs to be taken very seriously

I have two kids who have suffered concussions on my youth team. The parents are very aware of concussions as our the coaches. Anytime someone gets there bell rung they are put to a mini test. One of my guys is out for the year with a severe concussion.

Our son suffered a concussion in week 3 last season. His high school coach took every precaution that there be zero contact for a full week once the headaches were gone. Once he said "coach my headaches are gone" he actually had to sit 2 weeks (3 weeks total). My advice to anyone that has a child that plays a contact sport or has a child that has suffered a concussion, study, study, study, learn as much as possible about concussions and apply it. BTW- Thanks coach for looking out for our son's best interest!!

I have been around two program and both were carefull to recognize and deal with concussions. Does anyone know if high schools are required to report concussions to KHSAA? You too commonly hear of kids receiving there second or third concussion, or more. At some point the kid should be prohibited from continuing to play. D1 programs supposedly stop looking at high school recruits after their third concussion because the health risks grow exponentially with each subsequent concussion. Should a limit be enforced to protect these kids?

 

To my knowledge there is no reporting to the KHSAA for concussions.