High school student athletes have been hitting the football, field hockey and soccer fields for the last few weeks and that means a greater potential for head injuries at schools. The Maryland state school board formed last summer a task force to address how to treat head injuries as public awareness about the issue rises, the Baltimore Sun reports.
Last week a study reported that former NFL players die from Alzheimer’s Disease and ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) at a greater rate than the general public. The Baltimore Sun has published today a lengthy piece about the different — and inconsistent — ways the public schools are working to prevent concussions. Some schools conduct baseline testing, some do not, while others educate trainers and coaches, while others have no training at all.
The state school board has said that it will look at all possible alternatives such as limiting practices — a policy some Ivy League universities have instituted — setting guidelines for when to take injured players out of games and better training for coaches and parents.
(With the latter in mind, we have posted a useful video on concussions, above, that we found on youtube.)
Currently, schools systems work independently, without a single statewide policy on how to handle concussions. Many Baltimore private schools require baseline testing for all athletes, so that injury can be measured against a normal reading.
Read the Teen Athletes Suffer Long-Term Effects of Concussions at the Baltimore Sun.
From the Mayo Clinic website:
The most common symptoms after a concussive traumatic brain injury are headache, amnesia and confusion. The amnesia, which may or may not be preceded by a loss of consciousness, almost always involves the loss of memory of the impact that caused the concussion.
Signs and symptoms of a concussion may include:
- Headache or a feeling of pressure in the head
- Temporary loss of consciousness
- Confusion or feeling as if in a fog
- Amnesia surrounding the traumatic event
- Dizziness or “seeing stars”
- Ringing in the ears
- Nausea or vomiting
- Slurred speech
- Fatigue
Some symptoms of concussions may be immediate or delayed in onset by hours or days after injury:
- Concentration and memory complaints
- Irritability and other personality changes
- Sensitivity to light and noise
- Sleep disturbances
- Psychological adjustment problems and depression
- Disorders of taste and smell
The post Concussions in Maryland Student Athletes: Looking for a Consistent Policy appeared first on Baltimore Fishbowl.
