Concussion Prevention Strategies

How can concussions be prevented?

    Unfortunately concussions are not a completely preventable injury. However, concussion prevention by educating those involved with sports and implementing the most current recommendations, people may be better able to recognize the signs and symptoms involved with a concussion. By recognizing the signs and symptoms and baseline testing your athletes it can also help to prevent more serious injuries that may result from an athlete returning to play too soon.

Where do I find recommendations?

    There have been three International Conferences on Concussion in Sports. A panel of experts meets and discusses the current recommendations and changes that should be made. The last meeting was held in November of 2008 in Zurich where they revised the previous paper and released their most current recommendations. Along with the paper the panel revised the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT) and came up with the SCAT2.¹ The SCAT2 includes cognitive and physical tests that can be used in baseline testing and in evaluating a concussion.¹ The test gives you an objective score that can be used to judge return to play. This test should not be used alone though to determine whether your child is ready to return to sport.¹

    The National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) has also released a position statement on the Management of Sport-Related Concussion. This paper also gives a number of recommendations for a sport related concussion. The NATA’s recommendations range from defining and recognizing concussions, return to play decisions, assessment tools, when to refer to a physician, special considerations for young athletes, when to disqualify an athlete, equipment issues, and also home care.² Both Concussion in Sport Conference Consensus Paper and the NATA position statement are evidence-based or based on the most current research on concussion prevention.

What is baseline testing?

    Baseline testing is when an Athletic Trainer or other medical professional administers concussion assessment tools on an athlete before the start of the season, when they are healthy. Concussion prevention baseline testing is done to get an objective score for each athlete at a healthy state. It is important to baseline test every athlete because scores on these tests vary from person to person. Since children and adolescents are continuously growing and learning it is important to get a baseline number frequently.  It is recommended that high school athletes are baseline tested every 6 months to insure the scores are still valid.³ These baseline scores are used to help determine when an athlete is ready to return to playing their sport. An athlete’s scores on the concussion tests after injury should return to normal before they are allowed to participate again.

Who should be educated?

    Educating everyone involved in an athlete’s care is a very important step in concussion prevention. Educating the parent(s), coaches, and athletes themselves will help insure the health and safety of the athlete. Everyone should be educated on the signs and symptoms of a concussion. Knowing the signs and symptoms will help everyone involved to recognize a concussion and to provide the athlete the best care. Knowing the current recommendations is also very important. The knowledge on sport-related concussions is growing and changing constantly with all the new research that is coming out.

    Making sure that your medical provider is also educated on sport-related concussions is also very important. Making sure that your medical provider is current on the most recent recommendations will help to make sure that your athlete will return when it is safe for them to do so. There are also many health professionals who specialize in sport-related concussions. The Center for Disease Control offers a toolkit for a physician that gives them a fact sheet, evaluation tools, and a care plan to help them treat a patient with a concussion.⁴

Using appropriate tackling techniques can help prevent injuries

    Being educated on appropriate techniques in sports is also an important part of concussion prevention. Spearing is a very dangerous way of tackling in football that can lead to concussions and other serious injuries. The National Athletic Trainers' Association has released a position statement on Spearing. Spearing is when a tackler leads with their helmet in a head-down position.² This produces an axial load through the head and down the spine which can cause serious injuries.² Making sure that athletes are tackling with their head up is important to reduce injuries. Correct techniques should be taught at a young age to help insure they perform correctly as they get older.

Can sports equipment prevent concussions?

    No, sports equipment like helmets and mouth guards cannot prevent your child from suffering a concussion. Sports helmets are worn to prevent catastrophic injuries like skull fractures, while mouth guards are to be worn to prevent dental injuries. Neither was designed for concussion prevention.² Wearing the appropriate protective equipment and making sure that it is fitted properly however, can reduce your child’s risk. All football helmets should be certified by the National Operating Committee for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) every year to insure the equipment is still up to the appropriate standards.

    Your child’s equipment should be fit by a professional who knows the standards for the specific equipment they are wearing. Every brand has different recommendations for fitting and those should be followed to insure the safety of your child. It was previously thought that by wearing a mouth guard it would help with concussion prevention. This has been found to be untrue. Mouth guards should be used to prevent dental injuries but at this time there are no mouth guards that prevent an athlete from sustaining a concussion.⁵