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Michigan schools try out gold standard of concussion tests

 

Details of the block that knocked Ian Rice to the turf are fuzzy for him now. He remembers falling over. He remembers he couldn’t walk. That was the first sign something was seriously wrong.

His father, watching his son and his Birmingham Groves High School football team from the stands, remembers a little more.

“You’re taught to bounce up and get going, but he didn’t bounce and as soon as a guy doesn’t get up like you’re used to, my heart skipped,” Michael Rice said.

Rice suffered a concussion that sent him to the emergency room last fall, and he sat out the next two games in what turned out to be a 7-4 season. As a defensive captain for a team that was a preseason favorite to win its conference, Rice had every reason to want to return for his senior year.

The 5-foot-10, 185-pound middle linebacker — and his parents — also had cause to worry because of the concussion.

His story is one that plays out for thousands of athletes on thousands of high school sports teams across the country. What’s different is that Birmingham Groves is one of 62 Michigan high schools participating in a unique pilot program that does baseline testing of athletes in football and other sports to help with concussion diagnosis.

Baseline testing — a combination of memory, reaction time, attention and stress assessments — is done in major pro sports because it is considered an objective and individualized tool to help decide whether to remove an athlete from a game. The NCAA recommends baseline testing of all college athletes. While all states have laws that address preventing concussions in youth sports, many are weak and none require baseline testing.

Schools typically don’t argue with the benefit of testing, but cash-strapped districts often say the cost of offering such programs is prohibitive. Michigan found the seed money to make it happen this year, taking $10,000 primarily from playoff gate profits.

“The schools that are engaged in the pilot program are learning more about sideline detection and making smarter removal-from-play decisions, ” said Jack Roberts, Michigan High School Athletic Association executive director. “We know they are removing players at a higher rate than schools who are not involved in our pilot programs.”

Health and safety advocates fear concussions often go undetected in high schools because of inconsistent protocols at districts unwilling or unable to spend money for detection. It’s often on players to self-report concussions, or on coaches, who have many responsibilities and sometimes little training, to recognize symptoms.

The National Federation of State High School Associations says the only state association doing anything similar to Michigan is Mississippi, though that program covers far fewer schools and only football.

Many sideline concussion-testing programs are on the market at different price points. Michigan is testing the Illinois-based King-Devick Test affiliated with the Mayo Clinic and Maryland-based XLNTbrain Sport. The association provides them for free to the schools this year and next. Long term, Roberts thinks the association could fund it in part with a $3 to $5 fee per student.

The association expects to spend $20,000 next year to continue the program, Roberts said. He would like to see legislators assist, especially for poorer school districts, but the association is also working to get grants.

Steven Broglio, associate professor of kinesiology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and director of itsNeuroTrauma Research Laboratory, co-authored a study that recommends such protocols at schools. It also urges hiring full-time athletic trainers to attend games and practices, something also recommended recently by theAmerican Academy of Pediatrics.

He supports the school’s efforts, but with caution about the program’s ability to be widely applied.

“I’m a little concerned that they’re saying here’s a package that a coach, parent, anybody can use and that that’s good enough,” Broglio said. “Coaches are there to coach the team. They’re not necessarily there to manage medical injuries or medical conditions. Parents may or may not have the training depending on what their background is. ”

The school in the Detroit suburb of Beverly Hills employs a full-time athletic trainer. Nationwide, just one-third of high schools have one, Broglio said.

Birmingham Groves athletic trainer Kelly Salter spent about seven hours in August giving baseline tests to about 140 fall athletes in boys’ football and soccer and girls’ volleyball and cheerleading.

Baselines were determined during 30-minute sessions at computers set up in a classroom. The tests measure reaction time, attention, memory and stress by completing a series of exercises that involve such things as word recognition.

Athletes suspected of a head injury undergo a sideline assessment done in about five minutes with an iPhone or tablet app. It assesses memory by providing words for the athlete to remember. It asks questions that require the athlete to recall the hit. The athletes also hold the phone as they stand tandem for 20 seconds with eyes open and then closed to check balance.

That assessment is compared to the athlete’s baseline data to help determine whether they can return to play.

Salter was on the sideline for the second game of this season when Rice, back for his senior year, left the game and went to her after taking a blow to the head from the opponent’s fullback.

“I just told her I think I got a neck stinger and a little concussion,” Rice said. “We have an end zone camera, which you can see it really clearly where his head snaps my head back. I could tell immediately that something was up so I just went off.”

She administered the sideline test — including a memory assessment that can be done with an iPad or iPhone — measured it against his baseline and removed him from the game. He was able to play the next week after being cleared by his doctor.

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Rice was able to finish the season without another concussion, his father watching nervously from the stands for every game with one eye on the play and the other firmly on his son. They revisited the conversation about whether he should be on the field.

“He’s 17 and I don’t think I would deny him his ability to play,” Michael Rice said. “I would never do that, but we talk very directly about risk and reward.”

Ian helped lead the team to the conference championship and its first undefeated regular season since 1978. And that may be the end of football for him — he’s thinking about trying to be a walk-on, but more focused on getting a business degree.

Although it led to many anxious moments, Michael Rice said he was glad he didn’t interfere with his son’s desire to play.

“Was the risk worth the reward, absolutely,” he said. “I watched my son grow into a fine young man.”

Meanwhile, Roberts and the association will continue to press ahead on the funding puzzle and hopefully create a model for other states.

“I think some of the other states think we’re nuts, that this was a project that they didn’t need to undertake,” Roberts said. “We just thought it was important.”

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/education/article/Michigan-schools-try-out-gold-standard-of-6716902.php#photo-9152709

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Michigan Athletic Trainers Making football safe

In the wake of seven high school football players, who suffered fatal injuries during games in seven weeks, families of players naturally worry about their sons.

 Fenton Area Public Schools (FAPS)follows the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA)guidelines to ensure all student athletes, including football players, are safe while playing sports.

 “Injuries have always been a problem,” said Athletic Director Michael Bakker.  He said the MHSAA changed a few football guidelines last year that aimed to limit the amount of hits players take during practice.

 “We also continue to impress upon our trainer and coaches the importance of quality tackling and techniques, and making sure they know the warning signs of concussion,” Bakker said.

 They aim to reduce the amount of hits during practice as opposed to games, because tackling happens more during practice.

 Football players who regularly sustain brain injuries can develop chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is a brain degeneration, according to forbes.com.

 “We have a full-time athletic trainer, who is at all practices, contests and away football games,” he said. “Coaches have gotten to that point of ‘when in doubt, they sit them out.’”

 Only 37 percent of high schools have athletic trainers on the sidelines, according to profootballtalk.nbcsports.com.

 Mitch Smelis, the Fenton High School athletic trainer of 19 years, specializes in assessing injuries, providing care, and connecting student athletes and parents with specialized physicians when necessary. He works with Fenton schools on a contract with Physiotherapy Associates in Fenton.

 Smelis said athletic trainers are a valuable resource and he loves having relationships with kids, coaches and parents to do what is best for the player.

 When students tell him ‘I don’t feel good’ it’s hard to figure out the point of ailment because it encompasses so much. “You have to know the right questions to ask,” he said.

 Not only do some people have a tough old-school mentality regarding concussions, symptoms can take a while to appear.

 “It takes time trying to figure what doesn’t feel good, what does, if they are responsive,” Smelis said. “Unfortunately, the easy ones to pick are the ones that go in a bad direction.”

 Smelis said a few of the seven football players who died had pre existing conditions that contributed to their deaths.

 “It’s important to look at players’ pre-existing conditions and encourage them to say something if something’s not right,” he said. “Having an athletic trainer on staff is wonderful, but unfortunately we can’t stop everything from happening.”

 Another factor is following the guidelines.

 “We have to rely on officials to make sure they’re enforcing those rules. Our officials do a pretty good job across the board,” he said.

 Smelis stressed the importance of kids speaking up when something doesn’t feel right to “make sure they’re aware of little things so they don’t become big things. In sports, especially with football, we have the societal push of ‘we have to play through pain.’”

 Although, that’s not always what’s best for the kids. “We know the benefit of athletics from a physical standpoint. They get so much physical benefit,” he said.

 Smelis has treated about 10-15 concussions that occurred in all Fenton sports this school year, which he said is average. They try to stay ahead of the curve with head injuries.

 Most of the injuries he treats are sprains, strains, and contusions.

 “We know injuries are going to happen,” he said, adding that it’s important to identify those injuries, treat them, and do follow-ups. “There’s risk in everything we do but we want to minimize that risk.”

Michigan High School Athletic Association and Fenton improvements

 Last year, the MHSAA published these guidelines for football practices aimed to limit helmet-to-helmet contact.

• During the first week of practice, players can only wear helmets the first two days, shoulder pads can be added on the third and fourth days, and full pads cannot be worn until the fifth day.

• Prior to the first regular game of the season, schools cannot schedule more than one collision practice in a day, which is defined as live, game-speed, player-versus-player contact in pads.

• After the first regular game of the season, teams cannot have more than two collision practice days in a week.

• Football practices cannot exceed three hours.

• Players are restricted from targeting opponents and illegal helmet contact with defenseless players, which is a player not involved in a play, a player receiving a kick, and a player on the ground.

Fenton schools follow these guidelines:

 Fenton Area Public Schools Athletic Director Michael Bakker said they have “extensive” testing for students when an injury is suspected.

 “We work with a number of doctors who have more extensive training. We’re communicating with them to find the best course of rehab for those student athletes, and not letting them back on the field until they’re 100 percent,” Bakker said.

 Student-athletes must have one physical a year, which can be a normal doctor physical or a sports physical.

 Bakker said there hasn’t been an increase in injuries.

 “I think we know more now. We know the signs and the symptoms of certain injuries that weren’t diagnosed before,” he said.

The seven who died in seven weeks

 Seven high school football players have died in the past seven weeks. Injuries sustained while playing football contributed to their deaths.

Andre Smith — In Chicago, Smith suffered a blow to the head while playing football during a kick return play, according to usatoday.com. He was blocked, fell to the ground, and walked to the sidelines. He was taken to the hospital and died early morning of Oct. 23.

Cam’ron Matthews — In Texas, Matthews collapsed on the sidelines after suffering an aneurysm during the game. He died Oct. 17 in East Texas Medical Center, according to nbcnews.com.

Roddrick Williams — This tuba player and lineman in Georgia collapsed on Sept. 22 shortly after a football practice, according to cnn.com. His death was heart related according to the coroner.

Kenny Bui — In Seattle, Bui suffered a traumatic brain injury sustained during a football game on Oct. 2. He died Oct. 5 at the hospital, according to theguardian.com.

Evan Murray — In New Jersey, Murray sustained a hit during a football game on Sept. 25. He walked off the field and went to the hospital where he died from massive internal bleeding due to a lacerated spleen, according totheguardian.com.

Ben Hamm — In Oklahoma, Hamm died Sept. 19 from injuries he sustained during a game on Sept. 11. He suffered a bad hit and was in a medically induced coma to lower the pressure in his head, according to usatoday.com.

Tyrell Cameron — In Louisiana, Cameron played in a game on Sept. 4 when he had a collision with another player during a punt return and collapsed. He died in a hospital the next morning, according to cnn.com.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://www.tctimes.com/living/features/safety-on-the-football-field/article_c096b5d6-7fd8-11e5-ab7d-ff7cdd568141.html