Taking the field at practice before his first football game as a senior, you would never know Josh Rutter suffered from a bad concussion three years ago.
“It was during a game… I don’t remember much of it,” said Josh Rutter.
So debilitating, he didn’t even know his name.
With all the padding, helmets and protective gear, JCPS officials know football will never be 100 percent safe. So Norton Healthcare has teamed up with the school district to put $150,000 into protecting athletes who take the biggest hits.
“You know, no helmet is concussion proof,” said Jerry Wyman, JCPS Director of Activities and Athletics.
But it isn’t stopping them from preventing injuries. The school district used $150,000 in grant money from Norton Healthcare to purchase 235 new helmets. JCPS says the lowest rated helmets have been removed from the field and now all football players are wearing helmets with the highest impact ratings.
The school district also added three athletic trainers, giving reassurance to coaches and players.
“It’s great to have a medical professional that can tell you: Okay this kid is good to go. This kid needs to have further follow up,” said Ernest Smith, Fairdale High School Athletic Director.
“It’s nice to have one right there with you just in case anything’s hurting, you can just go tell him and he can check you out tell you if you’re good or not,” said Rutter.
Football isn’t the only sport susceptible to concussions though. So athletes who participate in high impact sports like soccer, volleyball, field hockey, basketball, lacrosse, wrestling, baseball and softball will undergo a baseline impact test.
“What this is going to test is some various brain functions like reaction time, memory and we just want to get a baseline on you to see how your brain functions normally,” said Rebekah Hibbert, Norton Sports Medicine Coordinator.
If the athlete gets a concussion he or she will need to pass the test again before returning to play, which trainers say is crucial.
According to a Purdue University study, football players often return to the field too soon. Researchers found that despite no visible symptoms, the brain’s chemistry can change, inhibiting the brain’s ability to move blood to the right places.
“Each Concussion is different from the next. It’s like a snowflake. They’re all individually different,” said Brian Jurich, Norton Sports and Medicine Operations Director. “In the last ten years the numbers have doubled in concussion diagnoses. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that people are more diligent in reporting it but it’s something we really want to stay ahead of.”
The baseline concussion test takes about 40 minutes to complete and JCPS says about 10,000 athletes will take the test.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://www.wdrb.com/story/29837857/jcps-adds-new-helmets-athletic-trainers-and-more-testing-to-reduce-concussions